We don’t like the carbon tax any more since legislation passed the House of Representatives. But we don’t like it any less after the perceived unseemliness of the triumphalism that followed its passage.
That’s the message in new polling from Essential Research, which shows little change in the level of support for Labor’s landmark legislative achievement.
Conducted between Wednesday and Sunday, the online survey of 1047 respondents shows 39% supporting the carbon tax against 53% opposed. This is slightly better for the government than the Galaxy poll in today’s News Limited tabloids (34% support and 57% oppose), but effectively unchanged on Essential’s survey of September 19. And it continues a pattern where Essential Research’s online panel methodology has consistently produced less unfavourable results on this issue than phone polls.
Essential also gave respondents three options for what should happen to the tax if Labor is defeated at the next election, in contrast to Galaxy’s approach of asking whether a victorious Tony Abbott would have a mandate for its repeal (to which 60% said yes).
Thirty-four per cent favoured a double dissolution to secure the repeal of the tax, with 33% prepared to allow that the tax should remain “if it proves to be effective in reducing carbon pollution”. More than 20% felt it should remain in any case “to provide certainty for individuals and business”. As always with questions related to the carbon tax, a strong polarity was recorded between Coalition and Labor/Greens voters.
Respondents were also asked to take their pick from 12 options to describe the positions taken by the leaders on asylum seekers, and the results provide consistently unflattering reading for Julia Gillard. The bitterest pill would be that she outscored Abbott on both “too soft” (21% to 7%) and “too hard” (10% to 6%).
Abbott even managed to record an effectively equal score to Gillard on his traditional negative of “just playing politics” (47% to Gillard’s 46%).
There is some relatively good news for the prime minister on the monthly measure of leaders’ personal ratings, in the shape of an 11-point improvement in her net approval rating after a disastrous showing in the September 12 poll. Gillard’s approval is up six points to 34% and her disapproval down five to 59%, and her deficit on better prime minister is down from four points (40% to 36%) to one (39% to 38%).
Abbott’s ratings have recorded no significant change: his approval and disapproval are both up one, to 40% and 51% respectively.
On voting intention, the major parties have recorded no change on last week’s result. The Coalition continues to lead 48% to 33% on the primary vote and 55% to 45% on two-party preferred, with the Greens up a point to 11%.
No we don’t like it Willaim. It will make Australia more uncompetitive and negatively impact our quality of life and do NOTHING for the global environment
SB – Please provide evidence for your statement or stop repeatedly making it! And the we you are referring to is what 55% of the poulation based on combinng 2 polls of 1000 people, I think you need a bigger majority than that to be convincing. And finally a majority does not make a point of view correct.
As for this article, who really cares why do we have this constant poll driven analysis when we are 2 years away from an election. Does it really mean that much that the ALP has snuck up 1% in 2PP? Let’s have more policy analysis and more policy analysis!!
Yes we do like it William. It will make Australia more competitive in the area of renewable energy, it will positively impact our quality of life by giving extra payments or reduced taxes to the majority of the population, the effects on the global environment may or may not be minimal but it will be good for the local environment and it sure beats doing nothing.
SB – Please provide evidence for your statement or stop repeatedly making it! And the we you are referring to is what 55% of the poulation based on combining 2 polls of 1000 people, I think you need a bigger majority than that to be convincing. And finally a majority does not make a point of view correct.
who really cares why do we have this constant poll driven analysis when we are 2 years away from an election. Does it really mean that much that the ALP has snuck up 1% in 2PP? Let’s have more policy analysis and more policy analysis!!