Abbott, approval, Approval of opposition leader, Liberal, opinion on opposition leader, Opposition leader, tony abbott, Tony Abbott approval
Q. Do you strongly approve, approve, disapprove or strongly disapprove of the job Tony Abbott is doing as Opposition Leader?
| Malcolm Turnbull | Tony Abbott | |||||||||
| 12 Jan 09 | 9 Feb 09 | 30 Mar 09 | 18 May 09 | 29 Jun 09 | 10 Aug 09 | 28 Sept 09 | 9 Nov 09 | 30 Nov 09 | 14 Dec 09 | |
| Strongly approve | 4% | 3% | 3% | 2% | 4% | 2% | 3% | 3% | 2% | 7% |
| Approve | 37% | 29% | 25% | 28% | 20% | 20% | 24% | 26% | 23% | 27% |
| Disapprove | 21% | 26% | 31% | 28% | 31% | 30% | 35% | 30% | 33% | 18% |
| Strongly disapprove | 9% | 17% | 17% | 21% | 26% | 28% | 18% | 20% | 22% | 18% |
| Don’t know | 29% | 24% | 24% | 21% | 19% | 20% | 21% | 20% | 19% | 31% |
| Total approve | 41% | 32% | 28% | 30% | 24% | 22% | 27% | 29% | 25% | 34% |
| Total disapprove | 30% | 43% | 48% | 49% | 57% | 58% | 53% | 50% | 55% | 36% |
34% of respondents approve of the job Tony Abbott is doing as Opposition Leader, 36% disapprove and 31% don’t know.
Perception followed party lines – Coalition voters were more likely to approve of the job Abbott is doing as Opposition Leader (65%) while Labor voters were more likely to disapprove (55%). 15% of Coalition voters disapprove of the job Abbott is doing as Opposition Leader.
Abbott’s approval rating is nine percentage points higher than the score Turnbull received right before he was replaced as Opposition Leader. However, Turnbull’s approval rating when he took on the leadership role in September 2009 was 36% and his disapproval rating was 30%. This is a slightly better result than that scored by Abbott after his succession to the leadership position.
Abbott, Approval of opposition leader, Liberal, opinion of opposition leader, opinion on opposition leader, tony abbott
Q. Which of the following describe your opinion of the Opposition Leader, Tony Abbott?
| Abbott
7 Dec 09 |
Turnbull
29 June 09 |
Rudd
7 Dec 09 |
Abbott lead over Turnbull | Abbott lead over Rudd | |
| Intelligent | 71% | 75% | 82% | -4% | -11% |
| Hard-working | 69% | 68% | 77% | +1% | -8% |
| A capable leader | 46% | 39% | 69% | +7% | -23% |
| Demanding | 53% | 62% | 60% | -9% | -7% |
| Arrogant | 53% | 69% | 49% | -16% | +4% |
| Out of touch with ordinary people | 53% | 65% | 45% | -12% | +8% |
| Understands the problems facing Australia | 46% | 48% | 59% | -2% | -13% |
| Visionary | 34% | 26% | 48% | +8% | -14% |
| Superficial | 42% | 51% | 41% | -9% | +1% |
| Good in a crisis | 39% | 32% | 58% | +7% | -19% |
| Narrow-minded | 52% | 51% | 36% | +1% | +16% |
| Down to earth | 46% | 25% | 55% | +21% | -9% |
| Too inflexible | 45% | 47% | 38% | -2% | +7% |
| Complacent | 31% | 38% | 38% | -7% | -7% |
| More honest than most politicians | 31% | 16% | 49% | +15% | -18% |
| Trustworthy | 36% | * | 51% | * | -15% |
*Not asked in June 2009 poll
When it comes to rating Abbott, people think he is intelligent (71%) and hard-working (69%), yet demanding (53%), arrogant (53%) and out of touch with ordinary people (53%).
Abbott scores higher than his predecessor Turnbull in terms of qualities such as being down to earth (+21%), more honest than most politicians (+15%), visionary (+8%), capable leader (+7%) and good in a crisis (+7%).
Males were slightly more likely than females to think that Abbott is superficial (46% v 39%), honest (34% v 28%), visionary (37% v 32%) and down to earth (48% v 43%).
Abbott, Industrial Relations, kevin rudd, rudd, tony abbott, WorkChoices
Q. The new Liberal leader Tony Abbott says that the Rudd Government went too far with their industrial relations laws when they got rid of the Howard Government’s WorkChoices laws. Do you agree or disagree?
| % | |
| Total agree | 37% |
| Total disagree | 45% |
| Strongly agree | 13% |
| Agree | 24% |
| Disagree | 22% |
| Strongly disagree | 23% |
| Don’t know | 18% |
45% of people disagree with Tony Abbott’s statement that the Rudd Government went too far with their industrial relations laws when they got rid of the Howard Government’s WorkChoices. 37% agree with Abbott’s statement that the Rudd Government has gone too far with industrial relations reform and 18% don’t know.
Results followed party lines – 76% of Coalition voters agree and 74% of Labor voters disagree with Abbott’s statements regarding the Rudd Government’s industrial relations reforms. Green voters were more likely to disagree with Abbott (62%).
Males were more likely than females to agree with Abbott’s statement (41% v 33%). People aged 55 years and over were also more likely to agree with Abbott (47%).