This week’s Essential Report comes in with the primaries running 41 (down 2) / 40 (up 1) to Labor, washing out into a two party preferred of 54/46 the same way – no change from last week. The Greens are on 11 (up 1), while the broad “Others” are on 8 (down 2). This comes from a rolling two week sample of 1934, giving us an MoE that maxes out around the 2.2% mark.
Additional questions this week focused on Australia’s relations with other countries, Kevin Rudd’s foreign policy performance and the better party to manage that issue, areas of the budget people believe should be cut and the personal impact of the budget. These additional questions ran off a sample of 1144, giving us an MoE that maxes out around the 2.9% mark. It’s worth having a squiz at the cross-tabs on these questions for the fun of the partisan stereotypes coming to fore yet again (I suppose that’s why they’re stereotypes!)
Do you approve or disapprove of the way Kevin Rudd is handling Australia’s relations with other nations?
On the cross-tabs, we have:
Results followed party lines – Labor voters were more likely to approve (87%), while Coalition voters were more likely to disapprove (66%).
61% of Green voters approve of the way Kevin Rudd is handling Australia’s relations with other nations.
Males were more likely than females to approve (55% v 45%). Females were more likely to indicate they don’t know (22%).
People aged 55 years and over were more likely to disapprove of the way Kevin Rudd is handling Australia’s relations with other nations
(45%).
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Who would you trust more to handle Australia’s relations with other nations?
The cross-tabs tell us:
Results followed party lines – Labor voters were more likely to trust Kevin Rudd and Labor (85%) while Coalition voters were more likely to trust Tony Abbott and the Liberal Party (66%).
Green voters were more likely to trust Kevin Rudd and the Labor Party (58%).
People aged 55 years and over were more likely to trust Tony Abbott and the Liberal Party (37%), while those aged 45 – 54 were more likely to trust Kevin Rudd and Labor (50%) when it comes to handling Australia’s relations with other nations.
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How important is it for Australia to have a close relationship with the following nations?
On the cross-tabs, Essential reports:
Labor voters were more likely to think a close relationship with China is very important (56%) while Green voters were more likely to think it is not very important (15%).
Labor voters were more likely to think relations with Indonesia are very important (48%) and relations with India are quite important
(51%).Coalition voters were more likely to think Australia’s relations with India are not very important (26%).
However, these voters were more likely to think Australia’s relations with the United Kingdom (52%) and the United States (68%) are very important.
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Would you like to see Australia’s relationship with these countries get closer, stay the same or become less close?
The cross-tabs give us:
33% support a closer relationship with New Zealand and 30% support a closer relationship with Indonesia. The country that scores the highest in terms of one which Australia should become less close with is India (16%).
Labor (36%) voters were more likely to think that Australia’s relations with China should become closer, while Coalition (17%) and Greens (23%) voters were more likely to think it should be less close.
Labor voters were more likely to think Australia’s relations with India should stay the same (55%), while Coalition voters were more likely to think they should become less close (20%).
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Thinking about the Government budget set to be announced soon, which of the following is the most important thing the Government needs to do?
The good oil on the cross tabs is:
Coalition voters were more likely to think the most important thing that should be included in the upcoming budget are cuts to spending so we don’t go further into debt (51%).
Labor (33%) and Green (34%) voters were more likely to think that assisting those on low incomes by increasing payments to pensioners and unemployed is the most important thing the Government needs to do in the upcoming budget.
People aged 65 years and over were more likely to think that the most important thing the Government needs to do in the upcoming budget is assist those on low incomes by increasing payments to pensioners and the unemployed (40%).
People aged 25 – 34 were more likely to think the most important budget measure should be cutting income taxes (33%).
People earning $600 – $1000 were more likely to support increased payments to pensioners (41%) while those on $1600+ were more likely to prefer cuts to income tax (26%).
The most significant shift since the 2009 survey is in terms of stimulating the economy by assisting business (-10%) and cut spending so we don’t go further into debt (+8%).
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If you had to choose, which of the following budget measures would you support?
On the cross-tabs we have:
Labor voters were more likely to support increased taxes for people on high incomes (62%), Coalition voters were more likely to support cuts to Government spending (65%) and Green voters were more likely to support increased taxes on business (15%).
People earning $600 – $1000 per week were more likely to prefer increased taxes for people on high incomes (53%), while people earning $1600 per week or more were more likely to prefer cuts to Government spending (45%).
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If cost savings need to be made in the budget, in which area should spending cuts be made?
On the cross-tabs we have:
Green (38%) and Labor (25%) voters were more likely to support cuts to defence and national security. Coalition voters were more likely to support cuts to social security and welfare (20%) and community services (9%).
People aged 18 – 24 (28%) year olds and 25 – 34 (26%) were more likely to support cuts to defence and national security.
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Do you expect that the budget will be good or bad for you personally, or will it have no impact on you?
The cross-tabs tell us:
Coalition voters were more likely to think the budget will be bad for them personally (48%), while Labor (36%) and Green (45%) voters were more likely to think it will have no impact.
People aged 55 years and over were more likely to think the budget will be bad for them personally.
Compared to the 2009 survey, the number of people that expect the budget will be good for them personally has decreased by eight percent and the number, the number that think it will be bad has decreased by four percent and the number that think it will have no impact has increased by nine percent.
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