Australians think the death of Osama bin Laden is more likely to prompt an increase in terrorism than reduce the terrorist threat, according to today’s Essential Report, but most think the death of the al-Qaeda leader will make no difference.

There are 37% of voters who think the killing of bin Laden will result in more terrorism, compared to 7% who think it will reduce terrorism; 48% think it will make no difference, while 19% think it will make the world a less safe place compared to 12% who think we’ll all be safer because of it; 63% think it will make no difference.

There’s also been a rise in support for maintaining our presence in Afghanistan, with 48% of voters backing withdrawal — down eight points since March, but the shift has been to keeping the same level of troops, rather than increasing their numbers.

And on budget eve, 45% of Australians think the economy is heading in the right direction, compared to 29% who disagree.

Julia Gillard and Tony Abbott have improved their standings with voters. Gillard’s net disapproval rating has dropped to seven points, from 13 points in April; 41% approve of her performance and 48% do not. Abbott has had a much bigger rise in support: his net disapproval rating is now down to two points, 42-44%, from 12 points a month ago.  Gillard’s lead as preferred Prime Minister is down a point to eight, 43-35%.

On voting intention — guess what? No change for another week, with the Coalition (47%) and Labor (35%) staying the same, and Greens up one point (bringing to an end a slow mini-decline over the past few weeks). On 2PP, it’s still 54-46%.