aboriginal, first nations, indigenous history, protests, slavery
Q. Below are some statements about the history of Indigenous Australians and the recent protests. To the best of your knowledge, do you believe each of the following to true or false?
| TOTAL: True | TOTAL: False | Definitely true | Probably true | Probably false | Definitely false | Don’t know enough | |
| Indigenous Australians were generally not allowed to vote in Australia until the 1960s | 67% | 13% | 36% | 31% | 9% | 4% | 20% |
| In the 19th and early 20th century, thousands of Indigenous Australians and people from the Pacific Islands were forced to work in Australia in conditions that amounted to slavery | 58% | 19% | 28% | 30% | 13% | 6% | 23% |
| Indigenous Australians are much more likely to be stopped by police than the average Australians, regardless of whether or not they have done anything wrong | 55% | 29% | 21% | 34% | 18% | 11% | 16% |
| Many of the new cases of Covid-19 in Victoria have been from people who attended the Black Lives Matter protest | 42% | 37% | 14% | 28% | 20% | 18% | 20% |
| TOTAL: True | Total | Gender | Age Group | Federal Voting Intention | ||||||
| Male | Female | 18-34 | 35-54 | 55+ | Labor | Coalition | Greens | TOTAL: Other | ||
| Indigenous Australians were generally not allowed to vote in Australia until the 1960s | 67% | 69% | 66% | 62% | 63% | 76% | 70% | 68% | 79% | 63% |
| In the 19th and early 20th century, thousands of Indigenous Australians and people from the Pacific Islands were forced to work in Australia in conditions that amounted to slavery | 58% | 59% | 56% | 59% | 56% | 58% | 62% | 55% | 76% | 54% |
| Indigenous Australians are much more likely to be stopped by police than the average Australians, regardless of whether or not they have done anything wrong | 55% | 56% | 53% | 57% | 55% | 53% | 61% | 48% | 76% | 56% |
| Many of the new cases of Covid-19 in Victoria have been from people who attended the Black Lives Matter protest | 42% | 46% | 39% | 45% | 41% | 41% | 38% | 52% | 22% | 44% |
| Base (n) | 1,085 | 533 | 552 | 335 | 374 | 376 | 339 | 417 | 92 | 126 |
| TOTAL: True | State | Education | ||||||
| NSW | VIC | QLD | SA | WA | Secondary Education | Professional Qualification | University Education | |
| Indigenous Australians were generally not allowed to vote in Australia until the 1960s | 67% | 68% | 65% | 72% | 64% | 69% | 66% | 68% |
| In the 19th and early 20th century, thousands of Indigenous Australians and people from the Pacific Islands were forced to work in Australia in conditions that amounted to slavery | 58% | 59% | 62% | 62% | 47% | 54% | 55% | 63% |
| Indigenous Australians are much more likely to be stopped by police than the average Australians, regardless of whether or not they have done anything wrong | 56% | 59% | 48% | 53% | 48% | 50% | 52% | 61% |
| Many of the new cases of Covid-19 in Victoria have been from people who attended the Black Lives Matter protest | 43% | 41% | 49% | 40% | 34% | 42% | 46% | 40% |
| Base (n) | 352 | 275 | 218 | 88 | 109 | 258 | 378 | 428 |
aboriginal deaths in custody, black lives matter, covid-19, protests, Racism
Q. Following the protests in the United States of America, there have been demonstrations in Australia oppose the deaths of Indigenous people in police custody.
To what extent do you agree or disagree with the following statements about the protests in Australia?
| TOTAL: Agree | TOTAL: Disagree | Strongly agree | Somewhat agree | Somewhat disagree | Strongly disagree | Unsure | |
| Protesters gathering in large numbers during the Covid-19 puts the entire community at risk | 84% | 9% | 62% | 23% | 5% | 4% | 7% |
| Protesters are justified in their demands for authorities to address the issue of Indigenous deaths in custody | 62% | 27% | 31% | 32% | 11% | 16% | 11% |
| The situation in America is very different to Australia and has no relevance | 61% | 30% | 34% | 27% | 18% | 12% | 10% |
| TOTAL: Agreement | Gender | Age Group | ||||
| Total | Male | Female | 18-34 | 35-54 | 55+ | |
| Protesters gathering in large numbers during the Covid-19 puts the entire community at risk | 84% | 86% | 82% | 78% | 87% | 87% |
| Protesters are justified in their demands for authorities to address the issue of Indigenous deaths in custody | 62% | 64% | 60% | 69% | 63% | 56% |
| The situation in America is very different to Australia and has no relevance | 61% | 67% | 54% | 54% | 62% | 64% |
| Base (n) | 1,087 | 534 | 553 | 341 | 364 | 382 |
America, black lives matter, george floyd, protests
Q. In the United States of America, protesters accuse law enforcement officers of using excessive force towards African-Americans following the death of George Floyd, an African-American man who died whilst he was being arrested. A policeman has been charged with third-degree murder following his death.
To what extent do you agree or disagree with the following statements?
| NET: Agree | NET: Disagree | Strongly agree | Somewhat agree | Somewhat disagree | Strongly disagree | Unsure | |
| Protestors are right to demand better protection and treatment of African Americans in society | 80% | 11% | 50% | 30% | 5% | 5% | 9% |
| Authorities in America have been unwilling to deal with institutional racism in the past, and that is why incidents like this continue to occur | 78% | 10% | 50% | 28% | 6% | 4% | 12% |
| Incidents like this are only part of the wider discrimination against minority cultures in society | 72% | 16% | 42% | 30% | 9% | 7% | 12% |
| The protesters want to loot and cause property damage, more than they want social change | 54% | 33% | 30% | 24% | 17% | 17% | 12% |
| Incidents like this are isolated and do not provide evidence of institutional racism in police forces | 33% | 54% | 13% | 20% | 26% | 28% | 12% |
| NET: Agree | Total | Federal Voting Intention | |||
| Labor | Coalition | Greens | TOTAL: Other | ||
| Protestors are right to demand better protection and treatment of African Americans in society | 80% | 84% | 80% | 83% | 77% |
| Authorities in America have been unwilling to deal with institutional racism in the past, and that is why incidents like this continue to occur | 78% | 81% | 77% | 88% | 77% |
| Incidents like this are only part of the wider discrimination against minority cultures in society | 72% | 77% | 71% | 76% | 72% |
| The protesters want to loot and cause property damage, more than they want social change | 54% | 49% | 65% | 29% | 59% |
| Incidents like this are isolated and do not provide evidence of institutional racism in police forces | 33% | 28% | 44% | 20% | 30% |
| Base (n) | 1,073 | 325 | 419 | 90 | 136 |
Essential Report, occupy, Polling, protests
Q. There have recently been protests held in some Australian cities – similar to the “Occupy Wall Street” protests in USA – against “corporate greed” and the power of major banks and multinational corporations. Which best describes your opinion of these protests?
| Total | Vote Labor | Vote Lib/Nat | Vote Greens | |
| Agree with their concerns and support the protests | 29% | 36% | 18% | 59% |
| Agree with their concerns but don’t support the protests | 40% | 37% | 48% | 27% |
| Don’t agree with their concerns | 13% | 10% | 19% | 5% |
| Don’t know | 18% | 18% | 15% | 8% |
69% say they agree with the concerns of the “occupy” protests – made up of 29% who support the protests and 40% who don’t support the protests. Only 13% say they don’t agree with their concerns.
A majority (59%) of Greens voters support the protests compared to only 18% of Liberal/National voters – although only 19% of Liberal/National voters disagree with their concerns. Labor voters are split over support for the protests – 36% support them and 37% agree with their concerns but don’t support the protests.
Support for the concerns of the protests is strongest among older respondents (aged 55+), 28% support the protests and a further 48% agree with their concerns.
Essential Report, occupy, Polling, protests
Q. Do you support the removal of protesters by police in Melbourne and Sydney or should they be allowed to continue their protests?
| Total | Vote Labor | Vote Lib/Nat | Vote Greens | |
| Support their removal | 42% | 34% | 57% | 16% |
| Should be allowed to continue | 41% | 51% | 26% | 76% |
| Don’t know | 17% | 15% | 17% | 8% |
Although only 29% support the protests, respondents were divided over the removal of the protesters in Melbourne and Sydney. 42% support their removal and 41% think they should have been allowed to continue.
While 57% of Liberal/National voters supported the removal, 51% of Labor voters and 76% of Greens voters think they should have been allowed to continue.
Younger respondents (aged 18-34) were more likely to think they should be allowed to continue (45% to 35%), and those aged 55+ favoured removal 51% to 37%.
48% of those on incomes under $1,000 pw think they should be allowed to continue while 47% of those on incomes over $1,000 pw support their removal.