Alan Joyce, Essential Report, fair work australia, Julia Gillard, Labor, Liberal, Polling, Qantas, Qantas Dispute, tony abbott, unions
Q. Did you approve or disapprove of the performance of each of the following in the Qantas dispute?
| Regular air travellers | |||||||||
| Total approve | Total disapprove | Strongly approve | Approve | Disapprove | Strongly disapprove | Don’t know | Total approve | Total disapprove | |
| Julia Gillard and the Labor Government | 30% | 49% | 6% | 24% | 22% | 27% | 20% | 30% | 56% |
| Tony Abbott and the opposition | 27% | 45% | 5% | 22% | 21% | 24% | 28% | 36% | 45% |
| Qantas management | 27% | 57% | 6% | 21% | 28% | 29% | 16% | 37% | 56% |
| Qantas workers | 33% | 49% | 7% | 26% | 36% | 13% | 18% | 35% | 55% |
| The Qantas CEO Alan Joyce | 28% | 58% | 8% | 20% | 22% | 36% | 14% | 37% | 55% |
| Union leaders | 24% | 56% | 4% | 20% | 27% | 29% | 19% | 26% | 63% |
| Fair Work Australia | 55% | 21% | 13% | 42% | 15% | 6% | 23% | 62% | 25% |
Overall, respondents disapproved of the performance of all parties to the dispute except for Fair Work Australia, which was approved by 55%.
More than half the respondents disapproved of the Qantas CEO Alan Joyce (58%), Qantas management (57%) and union leaders (56%).
Regular air travellers were more likely to approve of Qantas management and CEO. However, more than half disapproved of all parties except for Tony Abbott and the opposition (45% disapprove) and Fair Work Australia (25%).
Approval of Tony Abbott, ER, Essential Report, Opposition leader, tony abbott
Q. Do you approve or disapprove of the job Tony Abbott is doing as Opposition Leader?
| 18 Jan
2010 |
5 Jul | 20 Dec | 17 Jan 2011 | 14 Feb | 14 Mar | 11 Apr | 9 May | 14 June | 11 July | 15 Aug | 12 Sept | 17 Oct | |
| Total approve | 37% | 37% | 39% | 42% | 38% | 38% | 36% | 42% | 38% | 39% | 37% | 39% | 40% |
| Total disapprove | 37% | 47% | 39% | 37% | 46% | 47% | 48% | 44% | 48% | 49% | 50% | 50% | 51% |
| Strongly approve | 5% | 8% | 9% | 7% | 8% | 7% | 7% | 8% | 6% | 6% | 8% | 8% | 8% |
| Approve | 32% | 29% | 30% | 35% | 30% | 31% | 29% | 34% | 32% | 33% | 29% | 31% | 32% |
| Disapprove | 20% | 23% | 21% | 22% | 24% | 24% | 25% | 25% | 25% | 24% | 25% | 23% | 23% |
| Strongly disapprove | 17% | 24% | 18% | 15% | 22% | 23% | 23% | 19% | 23% | 25% | 25% | 27% | 28% |
| Don’t know | 26% | 16% | 22% | 20% | 16% | 16% | 17% | 14% | 15% | 11% | 13% | 11% | 9% |
Tony Abbott’s approval rating has been at a similar level for the past 5 months. 40% (up 1%) approve of the job Tony Abbott is doing as Opposition Leader and 51% (up 1%) disapprove – no change in his net rating of -11 over the last 5 weeks.
78% (up 4%) of Coalition voters approve and 16% (down 2%) disapprove.
By gender – men 44% approve/50% disapprove, women 36% approve/52% disapprove.
Better Prime Minister, ER, Essential Report, Greens, Julia Gillard, Labor, Liberals, PM, Prime Minister, tony abbott
Q. Who do you think would make the better Prime Minister out of Julia Gillard and Tony Abbott?
| 5 Jul 2010 | 17 Jan 2011 | 14 Feb | 14 Mar | 11 Apr | 9 May | 14 June | 11 July | 15 Aug | 12 Sept | 17 Oct | Vote Labor | Vote Lib/Nat | Vote Greens | |
| Julia Gillard | 53% | 47% | 48% | 44% | 42% | 43% | 41% | 37% | 38% | 36% | 38% | 82% | 4% | 85% |
| Tony Abbott | 26% | 32% | 31% | 33% | 33% | 35% | 36% | 39% | 36% | 40% | 39% | 2% | 82% | 4% |
| Don’t know | 21% | 21% | 20% | 23% | 24% | 22% | 24% | 24% | 26% | 24% | 23% | 16% | 14% | 11% |
38% believe Julia Gillard would make the better Prime Minister and 39% prefer Tony Abbott – a net improvement for Julia Gillard of 3% on last month’s figures (from -4% to -1%).
Men prefer Tony Abbott 42%/38% and women favour Julia Gillard 38%/36%.
Carbon Tax, Election, Greens, Labor, legislation, Liberals, tony abbott
Q. If the carbon tax is passed into legislation and Tony Abbott wins the next election, which of the following do you think should happen:
| Total | Vote Labor | Vote Lib/Nat | Vote Greens | |
| The carbon tax should remain legislation to provide certainty for individuals and business | 21% | 42% | 5% | 43% |
| The carbon tax should remain legislation only if it proves to be effective in reducing carbon pollution | 33% | 36% | 29% | 41% |
| Tony Abbott should call a further special election (called a ‘double dissolution’) to get the numbers in the Senate to repeal the carbon tax. | 34% | 10% | 57% | 12% |
| Don’t know | 12% | 12% | 8% | 4% |
34% think that if the carbon tax is passed into legislation and Tony Abbott wins the next election, he should call a further election to get the numbers in the Senate to repeal the carbon tax. 21% think that carbon tax should remain legislation and 33% think it should remain only if it proves to be effective in reducing carbon pollution.
42% of Labor voters and 43% of Greens voters think it should remain legislation, while 57% of Coalition voters think Tony Abbott should call another election to get the numbers to repeal it.
38% of men and 39% of those aged 55+ think Tony Abbott should call another election, while 38% of women and 40% of those aged under 35 think it should remain only if it proves to be effective in reducing carbon pollution.
asylum seekers, ER, Essential Report, Julia Gillard, leaders, Malaysia solution, political leaders, tony abbott
Q. Regardless of how you vote, what words would you use to describe the positions taken by Julia Gillard and Tony Abbott on the issue of asylum seekers, including the recent attempt at legislating the deal with Malaysia?
| Julia Gillard | Tony Abbott | Difference | |
| Just playing politics | 46% | 47% | -1 |
| Stubborn | 26% | 20% | +6 |
| Unethical | 24% | 14% | +10 |
| Too soft | 21% | 7% | +14 |
| Populist | 13% | 14% | -1 |
| Cruel | 13% | 9% | +4 |
| Responsible | 11% | 16% | -5 |
| Fair | 10% | 15% | -5 |
| Too hard | 10% | 6% | +4 |
| Balanced | 7% | 11% | -4 |
| Principled | 6% | 11% | -5 |
| Visionary | 6% | 5% | +1 |
Nearly half the respondents believe that both Julia Gillard and Tony Abbott have been “just playing politics” over the issue of asylum seekers.
The main differences between the leaders positions on asylum seekers were that Julia Gillard was more likely to be considered “too soft” (21% to 7%) and “unethical” (24% to 14%). Julia Gillard was also a little more likely to be considered “stubborn” (26% to 20%).
Abbott, Approval of opposition leader, Essential Report, federal politics, Polling, tony abbott
Q. Which of the following statements is closest to your view about the performance of Tony Abbott as Opposition leader?
| 7 Mar 2011 | 6 Jun 2011 | Total | Vote Labor | Vote Lib/Nat | Vote Greens | ||
| Tony Abbott is performing the role of Opposition leader well and is keeping the Government accountable | 41% | 42% | 38% | 6% | 77% | 10% | |
| Tony Abbott is just opposing everything and is obstructing the work of the Government | 43% | 44% | 45% | 82% | 11% | 77% | |
| Don’t know | 16% | 15% | 17% | 12% | 11% | 13% |
The proportion of respondents that believe that Tony Abbott is performing the role of Opposition Leader well is 38%, down four points from when the question was last asked on 6 June 2011. Coalition voters are far more likely to regard Abbott as performing the role well (77%).
Forty five per cent (45%) of respondents believe that Abbott is just opposing everything and is obstructing the work of Government (45%), a result that is fairly consistent with the previous occasions on which the question has been polled. Labor voters are the most likely to agree with this position (82%), as are Greens voters (77%).
Respondents aged 65+ are much more likely to regard Abbott as performing well (56%).
Respondents from Queensland were also somewhat more likely to regard Abbott as doing well (44%).
Approval of opposition leader, Approval of Tony Abbott, Essential Report, federal politics, Liberal, Polling, tony abbott
Q. Do you approve or disapprove of the job Tony Abbott is doing as Opposition Leader?
| 18 Jan
2010 |
5 Jul | 20 Dec | 17 Jan 2011 | 14 Feb | 14 Mar | 11 Apr | 9 May | 14 June | 11 July | 15 Aug | 12 Sept | |
| Total approve | 37% | 37% | 39% | 42% | 38% | 38% | 36% | 42% | 38% | 39% | 37% | 39% |
| Total disapprove | 37% | 47% | 39% | 37% | 46% | 47% | 48% | 44% | 48% | 49% | 50% | 50% |
| Strongly approve | 5% | 8% | 9% | 7% | 8% | 7% | 7% | 8% | 6% | 6% | 8% | 8% |
| Approve | 32% | 29% | 30% | 35% | 30% | 31% | 29% | 34% | 32% | 33% | 29% | 31% |
| Disapprove | 20% | 23% | 21% | 22% | 24% | 24% | 25% | 25% | 25% | 24% | 25% | 23% |
| Strongly disapprove | 17% | 24% | 18% | 15% | 22% | 23% | 23% | 19% | 23% | 25% | 25% | 27% |
| Don’t know | 26% | 16% | 22% | 20% | 16% | 16% | 17% | 14% | 15% | 11% | 13% | 11% |
Tony Abbott’s approval rating has been at a similar level for the past 4 months. 39% (up 2%) approve of the job Tony Abbott is doing as Opposition Leader and 50% (no change) disapprove – a change in net rating from -13 to -11 over the last 4 weeks.
74% (up 2%) of Coalition voters approve and 18% (down 2%) disapprove.
By gender – men 42% approve/52% disapprove, women 36% approve/48% disapprove.
Approval of opposition leader, approval of PM, Essential Report, Julia Gillard, Labor, Liberal, Polling, preferred PM, Prime Minister, tony abbott
Q. Who do you think would make the better Prime Minister out of Julia Gillard and Tony Abbott?
| 5 Jul 2010 | 17 Jan 2011 | 14 Feb | 14 Mar | 11 Apr | 9 May | 14 June | 11 July | 15 Aug | 12 Sept | Vote Labor | Vote Lib/Nat | Vote Greens | |
| Julia Gillard | 53% | 47% | 48% | 44% | 42% | 43% | 41% | 37% | 38% | 36% | 81% | 5% | 69% |
| Tony Abbott | 26% | 32% | 31% | 33% | 33% | 35% | 36% | 39% | 36% | 40% | 5% | 79% | 8% |
| Don’t know | 21% | 21% | 20% | 23% | 24% | 22% | 24% | 24% | 26% | 24% | 13% | 16% | 23% |
36% believe Julia Gillard would make the better Prime Minister and 40% prefer Tony Abbott – a net improvement for Tony Abbott of 6% on last month’s figures (from -2% to +4%).
Men prefer Tony Abbott 43%/37% and women favour Tony Abbott 37%/36%.