Responsibility for the Ruby Princess
Q. You may be aware that there is a special commission of inquiry into the docking of the Ruby Princess cruise ship during the Covid-19 outbreak. Many people were involved during the decision-making process, to varying degrees.
At the end of the day, who do you think is most responsible for the decision to dock the Ruby Princess?
| Gender | Age Group | |||||
| Total | Male | Female | 18-34 | 35-54 | 55+ | |
| New South Wales Health public officials | 25% | 29% | 22% | 21% | 26% | 29% |
| The ship’s captain and medical officers | 18% | 18% | 17% | 12% | 17% | 23% |
| New South Wales Port Authority | 13% | 12% | 14% | 14% | 14% | 11% |
| Border Force officials | 13% | 14% | 12% | 14% | 15% | 10% |
| The individual passengers | 5% | 6% | 5% | 10% | 4% | 2% |
| No one person or group is to blame | 26% | 22% | 29% | 29% | 24% | 25% |
| Base (n) | 1,067 | 532 | 535 | 341 | 341 | 385 |
| Federal Voting Intention | ||||
| Labor | Coalition | Greens | TOTAL: Other | |
| New South Wales Health public officials | 26% | 27% | 22% | 25% |
| The ship’s captain and medical officers | 14% | 22% | 16% | 19% |
| New South Wales Port Authority | 12% | 14% | 11% | 16% |
| Border Force officials | 15% | 11% | 15% | 15% |
| The individual passengers | 4% | 6% | 8% | 4% |
| No one person or group is to blame | 29% | 20% | 28% | 21% |
| Base (n) | 306 | 418 | 86 | 143 |
- A quarter of participants say no one person or group is most responsible for the decision to dock the Ruby Princess (26%) but an equal amount (25%) say the New South Wales Health public officials are most responsible. One-fifth (18%) believe that the ship’s captain and medical officers are most responsible.
- Men (29%) and those over 55 years old (29%) are more likely to say New South Wales Health public officials are most responsible, compared to women (22%) and 18-34 (21%).
- Coalition voters are most likely to say the ship’s captain and medical officers are most responsible (22%) compared to other voters (16%).
Government Responsibilities
Q. Which of the following should be mainly the responsibility of the Federal Government and which should be mainly the responsibility of the State Governments – or should they have equal responsibility?
|
Mainly Federal |
Mainly State |
Both equally |
Don’t know |
|
| Constructing new roads and highways |
20% |
27% |
49% |
4% |
| Investing in public transport |
9% |
57% |
31% |
3% |
| Improving the health system |
46% |
8% |
42% |
3% |
| Improving the education system |
40% |
12% |
44% |
4% |
| Managing mining projects and mining profits |
45% |
17% |
30% |
7% |
| Investing in regional areas |
15% |
41% |
40% |
4% |
| Managing the environment |
35% |
9% |
52% |
4% |
| Managing our water resources |
26% |
21% |
49% |
4% |
| Addressing climate change |
42% |
3% |
47% |
8% |
| Industrial relations issues |
37% |
15% |
42% |
5% |
Issues which were considered mainly Federal responsibilities were the health system, mining projects/profits, climate change and education.
Public transport and regional investment were considered to be more the responsibilities of the State Governments.
The environment, managing water resources and constructing new roads and highways were more likely to be considered a shared responsibility.
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Two Party Preferred: 14 May 2019
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