Essential Report
Views towards Victorian Covid-19 outbreaks and the hotel quarantine system
Q. Which of the following statements about the Covid-19 outbreaks in Victoria and the hotel quarantine system is closest to your view?
| Total | Gender | Age Group | Federal Voting Intention | |||||||
| Male | Female | 18-34 | 35-54 | 55+ | Labor | TOTAL: Coalition | Greens | TOTAL: Other | ||
| The Covid-19 outbreaks in Victoria are due to mistakes in the local handling of hotel quarantine and returning travellers | 41% | 43% | 39% | 45% | 39% | 39% | 31% | 49% | 37% | 48% |
| The Covid-19 outbreaks in Victoria are due to the fact that hotels are not designed as quarantine facilities and are not suitable as a long-term solution for quarantining returning travellers | 59% | 57% | 61% | 55% | 61% | 61% | 69% | 51% | 63% | 52% |
| Base (n) | 1,087 | 527 | 560 | 328 | 374 | 385 | 378 | 407 | 98 | 102 |
- 59% of Australians think the Covid-19 outbreaks in Victoria are due to the fact that hotels are not designed as quarantine facilities and are not suitable as a long-term solution for quarantining returning travellers. Labor voters and Greens voters are most likely to hold this view (69% and 63% respectively).
- 41% think the Covid-19 outbreaks in Victoria are due to mistakes in the local handling of hotel quarantine and returning travellers. Coalition and minor or independent party voters are most likely to think this (49% and 48% respectively).
Victorian lockdown and federal support
Q. The Victorian government has criticised the federal government for rolling out the Covid-19 vaccines too slowly, leaving quarantine up to state governments, and not providing businesses with enough support during the Covid-19 pandemic.
Which of the following statements is closer to your view?
| Total | Gender | Age Group | Federal Voting Intention | |||||||
| Male | Female | 18-34 | 35-54 | 55+ | Labor | TOTAL: Coalition | Greens | TOTAL: Other | ||
| The Victorian government is raising valid concerns about the federal government’s performance | 55% | 52% | 58% | 62% | 55% | 50% | 73% | 38% | 65% | 45% |
| The Victorian government is just seeking to shift the blame for its own failings | 45% | 48% | 42% | 38% | 45% | 50% | 27% | 62% | 35% | 55% |
| Base (n) | 1,104 | 542 | 562 | 347 | 364 | 393 | 346 | 404 | 108 | 141 |
| State | |||||
| NSW | VIC | QLD | SA | WA | |
| The Victorian government is raising valid concerns about the federal government’s performance | 53% | 61% | 52% | 55% | 55% |
| The Victorian government is just seeking to shift the blame for its own failings | 47% | 39% | 48% | 45% | 45% |
| Base (n) | 349 | 278 | 225 | 89 | 108 |
- 55% of Australians think the Victorian government is raising valid concerns about the federal government’s performance, and 45% think the Victorian government is just seeking to shift the blame for its own failings.
- While it’s the majority view across all states, Victorians are the most likely to think the Victorian government is raising valid concerns about the federal government’s performance (61% to 53% of those in NSW, 52% of Queenslanders, and 55% of South Australians and Western Australians respectively).
Speed of easing lockdown restrictions in Victoria
Q. Overall, do you think Victoria has moved too quickly, too slowly or at about the right speed in terms of lifting lockdown restrictions?
[ASKED IN VICTORIA ONLY]
| Total | Gender | Age Group | Federal Voting Intention | Location | |||||||||||||||
| Male | Female | 18-34 | 35-54 | 55+ | Labor | Total: Coalition | Capital | Non-capital | |||||||||||
| Moved too quickly | 7% | 9% | 5% | 8% | 9% | 2% | 3% | 8% | 7% | 7% | |||||||||
| About the right speed | 65% | 60% | 71% | 62% | 68% | 65% | 77% | 55% | 68% | 58% | |||||||||
| Moved too slowly | 28% | 32% | 24% | 29% | 22% | 32% | 20% | 37% | 26% | 35% | |||||||||
| Base (n) | 278 | 133 | 145 | 74 | 113 | 91 | 90 | 112 | 206 | 72 | |||||||||
- Victorians are generally satisfied with the speed of the easing of Covid-19 restrictions with 65% saying it’s about right. 28% think the government have moved too slowly and just 7% said they moved too quickly.
- Those most likely to think the government has moved too slowly include men (32%), those aged 55+ (32%), people living in regional Victoria (35%) and Coalition voters (37%).
Performance of State Premiers
Q. Do you approve or disapprove of the job <NAME> is doing as State Premier?
[Only asked in NSW, VIC, QLD, SA and WA]
|
|
Gladys Berejiklian
NSW |
Daniel Andrews
VIC |
Annastacia Palaszczuk
QLD |
Steven Marshall
SA |
Mark McGowan
WA |
| Strongly approve | 27% | 25% | 23% | 16% | 53% |
| Approve | 41% | 29% | 39% | 36% | 31% |
| Disapprove | 14% | 16% | 12% | 14% | 6% |
| Strongly disapprove | 9% | 24% | 15% | 5% | 1% |
| Don’t know | 11% | 6% | 10% | 29% | 10% |
| TOTAL: Approve | 67% | 54% | 62% | 51% | 84% |
| TOTAL: Disapprove | 22% | 40% | 28% | 20% | 7% |
| Base (n) | 352 | 274 | 217 | 82 | 105 |
- Mark McGowan in WA has the highest approval of State premiers, with 84% approving of his leadership, and just 7% disapproval.
- Victorian Dan Andrews has the lowest approval rating (54% approval, with 40% disapproval). He maintains approval among Labor voters (78% approval), but majority of Coalition voters in Victoria disapprove of his leadership (54%).
- Gladys Berejiklian has a high approval rating compared to other state premiers (67%). She has a majority approval among Coalition voters (83%), Labor voters (57%) and other parties (60%).
- 62% of Queenslanders approval of the job Annastacia Palaszczuk is doing ahead of the election later this month. 28% disapprove of the Queensland premier, driven by high disapproval ratings among Coalition voters (37%).
Attitudes to latest Victorian restrictions (VICTORIA ONLY)
Q. On 6 September, Victorian Premier Daniel Andrews announced the state’s roadmap for easing Covid-19 lockdown restrictions.
To what extent do you agree or disagree with the following statements about the updated restrictions?
| TOTAL: AGREE | 21/09 | 10/08 |
| I have a good understanding of what I am and am not allowed to do under the current restrictions | 74% | 80% |
| The restrictions affecting my area seem appropriate | 60% | 67% |
| The restrictions affecting my area will be effective at stopping the spread of Covid-19 | 64% | 63% |
| State & federal governments are doing enough to help people and businesses that are negatively affected by the restrictions | 40% | 54% |
| The changes won’t have much impact on my own lifestyle | 45% | 46% |
| VICTORIA ONLY | TOTAL:
Agree |
TOTAL: Disagree | Strongly agree | Somewhat agree | Neither agree, nor disagree | Somewhat disagree | Strongly disagree |
| I have a good understanding of what I am and am not allowed to do under the current restrictions | 74% | 6% | 43% | 31% | 20% | 2% | 4% |
| The restrictions affecting my area seem appropriate | 60% | 19% | 29% | 31% | 21% | 9% | 9% |
| The restrictions affecting my area will be effective at stopping the spread of Covid-19 | 64% | 10% | 29% | 35% | 26% | 5% | 5% |
| State & federal governments are doing enough to help people and businesses that are negatively affected by the restrictions | 40% | 24% | 15% | 26% | 36% | 16% | 8% |
| The changes won’t have much impact on my own lifestyle | 45% | 32% | 20% | 25% | 23% | 18% | 15% |
- 74% of Victorians agree they have a good understanding of what they are (and are not) allowed to do under the current restrictions, this hasn’t changed significantly from the 80% who agreed earlier the lockdowns. 60% agree that the restrictions are appropriate and 64% agree that the restrictions are effective at stopping the spread of the virus.
- 40% agree that enough is being done to help people and businesses that are negatively affected by the restrictions, this is lower that the 54% who agreed last month.
VIC: State Government response to Covid-19
Q. How would you rate your state government’s response to the Covid-19 outbreak?
| VICTORIA ONLY | 10/08 | 27/07 | 13/07 | 22/06 | 15/06 | 08/06 | 01/06 | 25/05 | 18/05 | 11/05 | 04/05 |
| Very poor | 16% | 13% | 14% | 8% | 6% | 6% | 4% | 3% | 3% | 4% | 3% |
| Quite poor | 14% | 17% | 12% | 5% | 5% | 6% | 7% | 9% | 10% | 11% | 8% |
| Neither good, nor poor | 21% | 17% | 25% | 22% | 13% | 16% | 17% | 16% | 15% | 15% | 17% |
| Quite good | 28% | 34% | 32% | 38% | 39% | 38% | 39% | 37% | 38% | 34% | 32% |
| Very good | 21% | 19% | 17% | 26% | 36% | 34% | 33% | 36% | 33% | 37% | 40% |
| TOTAL: Poor | 30% | 30% | 26% | 13% | 11% | 12% | 11% | 11% | 14% | 14% | 11% |
| TOTAL: Good | 49% | 53% | 49% | 65% | 75% | 72% | 71% | 73% | 71% | 71% | 72% |
| Base (n) | 499 | 239 | 281 | 261 | 275 | 275 | 275 | 275 | 267 | 275 | 275 |
| TOTAL: Good | 10/08 | 27/07 | 13/07 | 22/06 | 15/06 | 08/06 | 01/06 | 25/05 | 18/05 | 11/05 | 04/05 |
| NSW | 61% | 62% | 63% | 70% | 65% | 67% | 62% | 65% | 70% | 70% | 68% |
| VIC | 49% | 53% | 49% | 65% | 75% | 72% | 71% | 73% | 71% | 71% | 72% |
| QLD | 68% | 67% | 69% | 64% | 67% | 68% | 69% | 74% | 66% | 70% | 65% |
| SA | 72% | 76% | 79% | 79% | 76% | 79% | 70% | 84% | 80% | 78% | 76% |
| WA | 86% | 82% | 77% | 75% | 77% | 84% | 79% | 83% | 86% | 83% | 79% |
- Victorian’s rating of their State Government’s performance has decreased with only 49% of Victorians saying their Government’s performance has been good. This is on par with the results a month ago.
- Western Australia (86%) have the highest state government ratings for handling the crisis.
VIC: Attitudes to latest Victorian restrictions
Q. Victorian Premier Daniel Andrews has announced new restrictions for the state designed to stop the spread of Covid-19. To what extent do you agree or disagree that with the following statements about the new restrictions?
| VICTORIA ONLY | TOTAL: Agree | TOTAL: Disagree | Strongly agree | Somewhat agree | Neither agree nor disagree | Somewhat disagree | Strongly disagree |
| I have a good understanding of what I am and am not allowed to do under the current restrictions | 79% | 7% | 46% | 34% | 13% | 5% | 2% |
| The restrictions affecting my area seem appropriate | 67% | 15% | 35% | 32% | 18% | 9% | 7% |
| The restrictions affecting my area will be effective at stopping the spread of Covid-19 | 60% | 13% | 25% | 35% | 27% | 8% | 5% |
| State & federal governments are doing enough to help people and businesses that are negatively affected by the restrictions | 55% | 19% | 18% | 37% | 26% | 14% | 5% |
| The changes won’t have much impact on my own lifestyle | 43% | 38% | 15% | 28% | 19% | 19% | 19% |
| [THOSE IN PAID WORK] The restrictions will have a negative effect on my work | 41% | 32% | 16% | 25% | 27% | 19% | 13% |
- 79% of Victorians agree they have a good understanding of what they are (and are not) allowed to do under the current restrictions, while 67% agree that the restrictions are appropriate and 60% agree they will be effective at stopping the spread of Covid-19.
- Only 43% of Victorians agree that the changes won’t have much impact on their lifestyle, while 41% of those in paid work agree that the restrictions will have a negative effect on their work.
| VICTORIA ONLY AND NET: AGREE | Gender | Age group | Location | |||||
| Total | Male | Female | 18-34 | 35-54 | 55+ | Capital | Non-Capital | |
| I have a good understanding of what I am and am not allowed to do under the current restrictions | 79% | 76% | 82% | 64% | 81% | 89% | 78% | 83% |
| The restrictions affecting my area seem appropriate | 67% | 67% | 67% | 57% | 67% | 74% | 68% | 64% |
| The restrictions affecting my area will be effective at stopping the spread of Covid-19 | 60% | 61% | 59% | 56% | 62% | 61% | 61% | 57% |
| State & federal governments are doing enough to help people and businesses that are negatively affected by the restrictions | 55% | 52% | 57% | 39% | 63% | 60% | 54% | 57% |
| The changes won’t have much impact on my own lifestyle | 43% | 44% | 42% | 43% | 38% | 46% | 42% | 45% |
| [IN PAID WORK] The restrictions will have a negative effect on my work | 41% | 43% | 40% | 41% | 41% | 44% | 44% | 30% |
| Base (n) | 499 | 238 | 261 | 149 | 154 | 196 | 388 | 111 |
- Victorians over 55 are more likely to agree that they have a good understanding of the restrictions (89%) and the restrictions are appropriate (74%), than those aged 18-34 years old (64% and 57%).
- 18-34 year olds are least likely to agree that state & federal governments are doing enough to help people and businesses that are negatively affected by the restrictions (39%).
- Melbourne residents are more likely than non-Melbourne residents to agree that the restrictions will have a negative effect on my work (44%, compared to 30%).
VIC: Support for Victorian restrictions
Q. How strongly do you support or oppose the following restrictions currently in place in Melbourne?
| VICTORIA ONLY | TOTAL: Support | TOTAL: Oppose | Strongly support | Somewhat support | Neither support nor oppose | Somewhat oppose | Strongly oppose |
| Impose curfew between 8pm & 5am | 72% | 12% | 51% | 21% | 15% | 6% | 6% |
| Allow only 1 person at a time per household to leave and buy groceries | 71% | 16% | 47% | 26% | 13% | 8% | 8% |
| Require most shops close, and restrict the operations of many other businesses | 70% | 15% | 42% | 28% | 15% | 7% | 8% |
| Ban people from travelling more than 5km from their house | 70% | 15% | 47% | 23% | 15% | 7% | 8% |
| VICTORIA ONLY AND NET: SUPPORT | Gender | Age group | Location | |||||
| Total | Male | Female | 18-34 | 35-54 | 55+ | Capital | Non-Capital | |
| Impose curfew between 8pm & 5am | 72% | 71% | 74% | 60% | 73% | 82% | 72% | 74% |
| Allow only 1 person at a time per household to leave and buy groceries | 71% | 70% | 72% | 61% | 73% | 77% | 69% | 78% |
| Require most shops close, and restrict the operations of many other businesses | 70% | 68% | 72% | 62% | 72% | 76% | 70% | 71% |
| Ban people from travelling more than 5km from their house | 70% | 69% | 72% | 59% | 75% | 75% | 68% | 78% |
| Base (n) | 499 | 238 | 261 | 149 | 154 | 196 | 388 | 111 |
- Victorians overwhelmingly support all the current restrictions – and support is strongest among those over 55 years old.
COVID-19 RESEARCH
Read Essential's ongoing research on the public response to Covid-19.
Essential Report
In this week's report:
- Federal government response to Covid-19
- State government response to Covid-19
- Views towards reopening international borders
- Views towards state border closures
- Comprehension and confidence in PM’s plan to ‘safely reopen’ Australia
- Uptake of a Covid-19 vaccine
- Necessity of mandatory vaccinations in specific situations
- Views towards easing restrictions for fully vaccinated people
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