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  • Nov, 2010

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    Approval of Tony Abbott

    Q. Do you approve or disapprove of the job Tony Abbott is doing as Opposition Leader?

    18 Jan 22 Feb 29 Mar 3 May 31 May 5 Jul 2 Aug 16 Aug 20 Sep 18 Oct 22 Nov
    Total approve 37% 45% 33% 39% 35% 37% 38% 41% 43% 39% 40%
    Total disapprove 37% 36% 50% 43% 50% 47% 48% 44% 37% 45% 40%
    Strongly approve 5% 12% 8% 5% 5% 8% 8% 9% 12% 8% 6%
    Approve 32% 33% 25% 34% 30% 29% 30% 32% 31% 31% 34%
    Disapprove 20% 20% 28% 24% 28% 23% 27% 22% 21% 22% 22%
    Strongly disapprove 17% 16% 22% 19% 22% 24% 21% 22% 16% 23% 18%
    Don’t know 26% 18% 16% 18% 16% 16% 14% 15% 19% 17% 19%

    40% (up 1%) approve of the job Tony Abbott is doing as Opposition Leader and 40% (down 5%) disapprove – a shift from a net rating from -6 to level.

    78% of Coalition voters approve and 12% disapprove.

    By gender – men 46% approve/38% disapprove, women 35% approve/43% disapprove. Men have shifted from a net rating of  -7 to +8 while women have changed from -4 to -8.

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  • Nov, 2010

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    Better Prime Minister

    Q. Who do you think would make the better Prime Minister out of Julia Gillard and Tony Abbott?

    5 Jul 10 19 Jul 10 26 Jul 10 2 Aug 10 9 Aug 10 16 Aug 10 20 Sep 10 18 Oct 10 22 Nov 10 Vote Labor Vote Lib/Nat Vote Greens Kevin Rudd v Tony Abbott

    21 Jun 10

    Julia Gillard 53% 50% 51% 48% 45% 46% 47% 49% 45% 94% 6% 76% 47%
    Tony Abbott 26% 27% 26% 30% 33% 35% 35% 33% 34% 1% 78% 3% 30%
    Don’t know 21% 23% 23% 22% 21% 19% 18% 17% 21% 5% 17% 21% 23%

    45% (down 4%) believe Julia Gillard would make the better Prime Minister and 34% (up 1%) prefer Tony Abbott – a closing of the gap from 16% to 11% since last month’s figures.

    Men favour Julia Gillard over Tony Abbott 41%/40% and women 49%/28%.

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  • Nov, 2010

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    Watching Live Sport on TV

    Q. How often do you watch live sport on free-to-air TV?

    Q. How often do you watch live sport on pay TV?

    FTA Pay
    More than three times a week 11% 7%
    Two or three times a week 13% 5%
    About once a week 21% 8%
    About once a month 7% 4%
    Less often 9% 6%
    It varies, depending on the time of year 20% 10%
    Total watch 80% 39%
    Never 18% 59%
    Can’t say 2% 2%

    80% say they watch live sport on free-to-air TV and 39% watch on pay TV.

    45% watch at least once a week on free-to-air TV and 20% watch at least once a week on pay TV.

    57% of men and 31% of women watch on FTA TV at least once a week, while 25% of men and 14% of women watch on pay TV at least once a week.

    The age groups most likely to watch FTA at least once a week are 18-24 (52%) and 35-44 (49%) while those least likely are 65+ (39%) and 25-34 (39%).

    There were no substantial age differences for those watching on pay TV.

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  • Nov, 2010

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    Rating Coverage of Live Sport on TV

    Q. How would you rate the coverage of live sport on free-to-air TV?

    Q. How would you rate the coverage of live sport on pay TV?

    FTA Pay
    Total good 77% 80%
    Total poor 17% 5%
    Very good 19% 40%
    Good 58% 40%
    Poor 14% 3%
    Very poor 3% 2%
    Don’t know 6% 15%

    *Note : Percentages based on those who watch live sport on FTA/pay TV.

    77% of those who watch sport on FTA TV rate the coverage good and 17% say it is poor. For watchers of pay TV, 80% say good and 5% poor.

    40% of viewers rate pay TV “very good” compared to 19% for FTA TV.

    For pay TV coverage, those watching more frequently are more likely to give higher positive ratings – for those viewing at least twice a week, 70% rated it very good, 26% good and only 1% poor or very poor.

    For FTA TV coverage, of those viewing at least twice a week, 29% rated it very good, 48% good and 20% poor or very poor.

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  • Nov, 2010

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    History to be made in Adelaide on November 24

        Ark Tribe - construction worker

    I’m going to Adelaide next week and I’m excited.

    Obviously I take some satisfaction in being the first person to ever write that sentence, but I’ll take more if things go our way on November 24.

    (Sorry, Adelaide. I understand how it feels to be the lazy gag writer’s best friend. I’m from Canberra.)

    The South Australian capital will be the focus of the nation’s attention on Wednesday, because it is where we will finally find out whether the Australian Building and Construction Commission can put an ordinary worker in jail for sticking up for safety.

    In 2008, the excellently named Ark Tribe, a construction worker, raised serious safety concerns with his employer on a site in Adelaide.

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  • Nov, 2010

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    Nothing to Barack about

    First Published on The Drum 16/11/2010

    If the mid-term drubbings and G20 currency fisticuffs with China are not enough, Barack Obama will return home with more bad news: Australians think his nation has lost its mojo.

    While Julia Gillard and entourage were all smiles at the official photo call, they politely chose not to disclose they were representing a nation that thinks the USA is in decline.

    In fact, 60 per cent of all surveyed in this week’s Essential Report see the American Empire’s influence becoming weaker, with just 20 per cent believing the USA’s influence on the world is on the rise.

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  • Nov, 2010

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    Federal politics – voting intention

    Q. If a Federal Election was held today to which party will you probably give your first preference vote? If not sure, which party are you currently leaning toward?

    Q. If don’t know -Well which party are you currently leaning to?

    sample size = 1,907

    First preference/leaning to 6 months ago 4 weeks ago 2 weeks ago Last week This week
    Liberal 41% 42% 41% 42% 42%
    National 2% 2% 3% 4% 3%
    Total Lib/Nat 43% 44% 44% 46% 45%
    Labor 38% 40% 41% 39% 39%
    Greens 10% 9% 8% 8% 10%
    Other/Independent 9% 7% 7% 7% 7%
    2PP 6 months ago 4 weeks ago 2 weeks ago Last week

    This week
    Total Lib/Nat 50% 50% 50% 51% 51%
    Labor 50% 50% 50% 49% 49%

    NB.  The data in the above tables comprise 2-week averages derived the first preference/leaning to voting questions.  Respondents who select ‘don’t know’ are not included in the results.  The two-party preferred estimate is calculated by distributing the votes of the other parties according to their preferences at the 2010 election.

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  • Nov, 2010

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    Competition Between Banks

    Q. Do you think there needs to be more competition between Australian banks or is there enough competition?

    Total Vote Labor Vote Lib/Nat Vote Greens
    There is enough competition 21% 21% 25% 13%
    Needs to be more competition 68% 70% 68% 81%
    Don’t know 11% 8% 6% 7%

    68% believe there needs to be more competition between banks and 21% think there is currently enough competition.

    81% of Greens voters believe there needs to be more competition.

    Younger respondents are a little more likely to think there is enough competition (27% of aged 18-34) while 76% of respondents aged 55+ think there should be more competition.

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