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  • May, 2021

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    Preferred Prime Minister

    Q. Who do you think would make the better Prime Minister out of Scott Morrison and Anthony Albanese?

      May’21 Apr’21 Mar’21 Feb’21 Jan’21 Dec’20 Nov’20 Oct’20 Sep’20 Aug’20 Jul’20 Jun’20
    Scott Morrison 50% 47% 52% 52% 51% 50% 53% 50% 49% 52% 50% 53%
    Anthony Albanese 24% 28% 26% 24% 25% 24% 24% 25% 26% 22% 27% 23%
    Don’t know 26% 25% 22% 24% 25% 26% 24% 25% 25% 26% 23% 24%
    Base (n) 1,092 1,368 1,124 1,109 1,084 1,071 1,010 1,082 1,076 1,010 1,054 1,059

     

    Men May’21 Apr’21 Mar’21 Feb’21 Jan’21 Dec’20 Nov’20 Oct’20
    Scott Morrison 54% 53% 52% 54% 53% 54% 54% 52%
    Anthony Albanese 26% 29% 30% 28% 28% 29% 28% 29%
    Don’t know 20% 18% 19% 19% 19% 17% 19% 19%
    Women                
    Scott Morrison 47% 42% 53% 51% 48% 47% 51% 47%
    Anthony Albanese 22% 26% 23% 21% 22% 19% 20% 22%
    Don’t know 31% 32% 24% 29% 31% 34% 28% 31%

     

    May’21   Federal Voting Intention
    Total Labor Coalition Greens TOTAL: Other
    Scott Morrison 50% 32% 83% 29% 34%
    Anthony Albanese 24% 41% 7% 46% 22%
    Don’t know 26% 26% 9% 25% 44%
    Base (n) 1,092 371 400 109 111
    • Half (50%) of participants believe that Scott Morrison would make a better PM than Anthony Albanese (47% last month).
    • Just under a quarter (24%) would prefer the Opposition Leader (28% in April). Just over a quarter (26%) of participants don’t know who would make the better PM.
    • Preference for Morrison has increased among women to 47% (from 42% last month). Preference is unchanged among men (54% and 53%).
    • 41% of Labor voters believe Albanese would make the better PM, a notable drop from levels last month (50%). Just over a third (32%) now think Morrison would make the better leader (27% last month) and about a quarter (26%) don’t know.
  • May, 2021

    Federal Budget expectations

    Q. The Federal Budget will be announced on Tuesday 11th In general, do you expect the Federal Budget will be good or bad for the following?

      May’21 Oct’20
      TOTAL: Very Good / Good Neither good, nor bad TOTAL: Very bad / Bad Don’t know TOTAL: Very Good / Good Neither good, nor bad TOTAL: Very bad / Bad Don’t know
    People who are well off 53% 28% 8% 12% 51% 30% 10% 8%
    Big business 51% 30% 9% 11% 53% 26% 12% 9%
    Small business 44% 28% 17% 11% 44% 26% 23% 7%
    The economy overall 41% 33% 16% 10% 34% 27% 32% 7%
    Australian families 38% 33% 19% 10% 33% 31% 29% 7%
    Women 34% 36% 18% 12% – – – –
    Average working people 32% 32% 25% 10% 30% 29% 34% 6%
    Younger Australians 31% 35% 23% 12% 29% 31% 33% 8%
    People on lower incomes 30% 27% 33% 11% 30% 23% 40% 6%
    Older Australians 29% 28% 32% 11% 31% 28% 34% 7%
    You personally 23% 40% 27% 10% 25% 36% 31% 8%
    • Over half of people think the upcoming budget will be good / very good for those who are well off (53%) and about half (51%) think it will benefit big business. This is consistent with levels for these measures last budget (51% and 53% respectively).
    • Notably, more people now think the upcoming budget will be good / very good for the economy overall (41% from 34% in October) and Australian families (38% from 33%) than the last announcement in October.
    • People on lower incomes (33%) and older Australians (32%) are most expected to be worse off following the announcement.
    TOTAL:

    Very good / Good

    		 Total Federal Voting Intention
    Labor Coalition Greens TOTAL: Other
    People who are well off 53% 60% 47% 70% 62%
    Big business 51% 57% 49% 62% 57%
    Small business 44% 40% 60% 32% 40%
    The economy overall 41% 33% 61% 26% 34%
    Australian families 38% 32% 54% 29% 38%
    Women 34% 31% 46% 30% 33%
    Average working people 32% 25% 47% 26% 34%
    Younger Australians 31% 25% 44% 23% 27%
    People on lower incomes 30% 20% 45% 23% 34%
    Older Australians 29% 25% 38% 35% 26%
    You personally 23% 16% 32% 22% 26%
    • 23% expect to be better off following the budget announcement.
    • 32% of Coalition voters think they personally will have a good budget. This is higher than Labor (16%), Greens (22%) and those voting for a minor/independent party (26%).
  • May, 2021

    Most important areas for increased funding

    Q. How important to you is it that each of the following areas receives increased funding in the upcoming Federal Budget?

      TOTAL: Very important / Important Quite important TOTAL:  Not very important / Not at all important
    Improving the quality of aged care 74% 20% 6%
    Services and facilities to improve women’s safety 60% 30% 10%
    Promoting the local manufacture of Covid-19 vaccines 59% 27% 14%
    Incentives and support for small businesses 57% 34% 9%
    Early childhood education and care 55% 28% 18%
    Energy transition from fossil fuels to renewables 51% 31% 19%
    Reducing the national deficit 48% 34% 18%
    • Improving the quality of aged care is seen by the majority of Australians to be an important / very important area to receive increased funding in the upcoming Federal Budget (74%). Services and facilities to improve women’s safety (60%) comes next, closely followed by promoting the local manufacture of Covid-19 vaccines (59%).
    • Reducing the national deficit (48%) and funding for the energy transition from fossil fuels to renewables (51%) are seen as the least important areas for funding.
    TOTAL: Very important / Important Total Federal Voting Intention
    Labor Coalition Greens TOTAL: Other TOTAL:

    Labor, Greens, Other
    Improving the quality of aged care 74% 77% 74% 78% 76% 77%
    Services and facilities to improve women’s safety 60% 63% 58% 72% 62% 64%
    Promoting the local manufacture of Covid-19 vaccines 59% 61% 65% 56% 54% 59%
    Incentives and support for small businesses 57% 52% 64% 58% 53% 53%
    Early childhood education and care 55% 60% 51% 58% 54% 59%
    Energy transition from fossil fuels to renewables 51% 53% 46% 74% 49% 56%
    Reducing the national deficit 48% 43% 58% 35% 48% 43%
    Base (n) 1,092 371 400 109 111 591
    • Compared to all other voters, Coalition voters are more likely to think incentives and support for small businesses is an important / very important area for increased funding (53% to 64% respectively), however they are less likely to think the same for early childhood education and care (59% to 51% respectively).
    • Coalition voters are more likely to see reducing the national deficit as an important area for increased funding compared to all other voters (58% to 43% respectively).
  • May, 2021

    Economy: Direct investment vs trickle-down approach

    Q. And which of the following is closest to your view on the best way to create jobs and grow the economy?

      May’21 Oct’20
     
    The government should directly invest in the economy by creating projects and jobs, and raise the standard of living for the majority of workers 66% 69%
    The government should relax regulation and lower taxes for the wealthy to encourage businesses to grow and create jobs 17% 19%
    Unsure 17% 13%
    Base (n) 1,092 1,066
    • Most Australians’ want the government to directly invest in the economy by creating projects and jobs, and raise the standard of living for the majority of workers (66%), rather than relax regulation and lower taxes for the wealthy to encourage businesses to grow and create jobs (17%) to create jobs and grow the economy. This is consistent with levels last October (69% and 19% respectively).
    • Slightly more people are now unsure which the best approach is (17% from 13% in October).
    Total Federal Voting Intention
    Labor Coalition Greens TOTAL: Other TOTAL:

    Labor, Greens, Other
    The government should directly invest in the economy by creating projects and jobs, and raise the standard of living for the majority of workers 66% 74% 64% 75% 69% 73%
    The government should relax regulation and lower taxes for the wealthy to encourage businesses to grow and create jobs 17% 13% 23% 15% 17% 14%
    Unsure 17% 13% 13% 10% 14% 12%
    Base (n) 1,092 371 400 109 111 591
    • The majority of voters of all major parties want the government to directly invest in the economy by creating projects and jobs, and raise the standard of living for the majority of workers.
  • May, 2021

    Priority for the upcoming budget

    Q. Which one of the following options is closest to your thinking about what the priority should be of the upcoming budget?

      Total Gender Age Group Federal Voting Intention
    Male Female 18-34 35-54 55+ Labor TOTAL: Coalition Greens TOTAL: Other
    The government should prioritise the reduction of national debt by cutting public funding for services 20% 24% 16% 27% 21% 13% 15% 22% 25% 33%
    The government should prioritise providing support for people and industries struggling because of the pandemic 80% 76% 84% 73% 79% 87% 85% 78% 75% 67%
    Base (n) 1,092 536 556 340 372 380 371 400 109 111
    • The majority of Australians think the government should prioritise providing support for people and industries struggling because of the pandemic in the upcoming budget (80%), over the reduction of national debt by cutting public funding for services (20%).
    • Preference for providing support for people and industries struggling because of the pandemic is highest among women (84%), those over 55 (87%) and Labor voters (85%).
  • May, 2021

    Indicators of whether the Australian economy is in a good or poor state

    Q. Which of the following indicators do you think is the most important when thinking about whether the Australian economy is in a good or poor state?

      May’21 Sep’20 Sep’19
    The unemployment rate 25% 39% 25%
    The cost of household bills 20% 13% 22%
    The size of the national deficit 13% – –
    The amount of homeless people on the streets 11% 8% 10%
    The value of the Australian dollar to international currencies 8% 12% 13%
    The gross domestic product per person 7% 7% 8%
    The interest rate set by Reserve Bank of Australia 7% 6% 9%
    The consumer price index 5% 6% 6%
    The number of new shops, restaurants and cafes opening 5% 3% 2%
    The size of the national surplus – 6% 6%
    Base (n) 1,092 1,081 1,097

     

    Total Gender Age Group Federal Voting Intention
    Male Female 18-34 35-54 55+ Labor TOTAL: Coalition Greens TOTAL: Other
    The unemployment rate 25% 24% 25% 28% 26% 21% 26% 21% 34% 25%
    The cost of household bills 20% 19% 21% 18% 20% 21% 21% 19% 18% 18%
    The size of the national deficit 13% 10% 15% 8% 13% 17% 10% 15% 7% 17%
    The amount of homeless people on the streets 11% 8% 13% 11% 11% 11% 12% 8% 15% 7%
    The value of the Australian dollar to international currencies 8% 9% 7% 12% 7% 6% 9% 8% 4% 7%
    The gross domestic product per person 7% 9% 6% 7% 7% 8% 6% 10% 7% 6%
    The interest rate set by Reserve Bank of Australia 7% 8% 6% 6% 8% 7% 7% 8% 3% 8%
    The consumer price index 5% 7% 3% 6% 5% 4% 5% 6% 8% 3%
    The number of new shops, restaurants and cafes opening 5% 6% 3% 5% 4% 5% 4% 5% 4% 9%
    Base (n) 1,092 536 556 340 372 380 371 400 109 111
    • The unemployment rate is still thought to be the top indicator of the state of the Australian economy, with a quarter of Australians (25%) ranking it as most important.
    • Cost of household bills (20%), the size of the national deficit (13%) and levels of homelessness (11%) are also seen to be key indicators of the state of the economy.
  • May, 2021

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    Uptake of a Covid-19 vaccine

    Q. The Covid-19 vaccine rollout is underway in Australia.

    Once a vaccine becomes available to you, how long would you wait before taking it?

      10/05 26/04 15/03 01/03 18/01 14/12 10/08
    I’d get vaccinated as soon as possible / I’ve already been vaccinated 44% 42% 47% 50% 42% 43% 56%
    I’d get vaccinated, but wouldn’t do it straight away 42% 42% 40% 40% 47% 46% 35%
    I’d never get vaccinated 14% 16% 12% 10% 11% 10% 8%
    Base (n) 1,092 1,090 1,124 1,074 1,084 1,071 1,010
    • 44% of Australians now say they would get vaccinated as soon as possible or they’ve already been vaccinated (42% in April).
    • The proportion of people who say they would get vaccinated but not straight away is unchanged from last month (42%).
    • 14% now say they would never get vaccinated.
      Total Gender Age Group Federal Voting Intention
      Male Female 18-34 35-54 55+ Labor TOTAL: Coalition Greens TOTAL: Other
    I’d get vaccinated as soon as possible / I’ve already been vaccinated 44% 53% 35% 32% 41% 56% 43% 52% 40% 38%
    I’d get vaccinated, but wouldn’t do it straight away 42% 34% 50% 48% 44% 37% 43% 39% 48% 44%
    I’d never get vaccinated 14% 13% 15% 20% 15% 8% 14% 9% 12% 18%
    Base (n) 1,092 536 556 340 372 380 371 400 109 111
    • Those most likely to get the vaccine immediately or already be vaccinated include men (53%) and those aged over 55 (56%).
    • Those voting for independent or minor parties are the most likely to say they would never get vaccinated (18%).
  • May, 2021

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    Views towards measures for people entering Australia from India

    Q. To what extent do you support or oppose the following measures for people entering Australia from India?

      TOTAL: Support TOTAL: Oppose Strongly support Somewhat support Neither support nor oppose Somewhat oppose Strongly oppose
    Banning Australian citizens in India from entering the country due to the risk of Covid-19 transmission 48% 27% 25% 22% 25% 14% 13%
    Penalties of $50,000 fine and five years imprisonment for anyone attempting to arrive in Australia from India 41% 33% 23% 18% 26% 16% 17%
    Allowing Australian citizens to return from India provided they complete the necessary quarantine procedures when they arrive 56% 22% 22% 33% 22% 12% 10%
    • Over half of Australians (56%) support allowing Australian citizens to return from India provided they complete the necessary quarantine procedures when they arrive.
    • However, just under half (48%) support banning Australian citizens in India from entering the country due to the risk of Covid-19 transmission and 41% support penalties of $50,000 fine and five years imprisonment for anyone attempting to arrive in Australia from India.
    TOTAL: Support Total Age Group Federal Voting Intention
    18-34 35-54 55+ Labor TOTAL: Coalition Greens TOTAL: Other TOTAL:

    Labor, Greens, Other
    Banning Australian citizens in India from entering the country due to the risk of Covid-19 transmission 48% 37% 54% 51% 46% 56% 43% 47% 46%
    Penalties of $50,000 fine and five years imprisonment for anyone attempting to arrive in Australia from India 41% 33% 49% 40% 39% 48% 31% 44% 39%
    Allowing Australian citizens to return from India provided they complete the necessary quarantine procedures when they arrive 56% 49% 54% 62% 58% 56% 64% 51% 58%
    Base (n) 1,092 340 372 380 371 400 109 111 591
    • While support for allowing Australian citizens to return from India provided they complete the necessary quarantine procedures when they arrive is high across age groups, those over 55 are more likely to support this than younger cohorts (62% to 54% and 49% respectively).
    • Support for this measure is consistently high across party lines.
    • Those 18-34 are much less likely to support banning Australian citizens in India from entering the Australia due to the risk of Covid-19 transmission than older groups (37% to 54% of those 35-54 and 51% of those over 55).
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