New research from public policy think tank The Australia Institute shows that health, the economy and climate change remain the top three political issues for South Australians, following the March State Election.

The Australia Institute surveyed of a representative sample of 616 South Australians in September, asking about their voting intention, top political issue, and level of satisfaction with the job being done by the Premier and Opposition Leader.

Key Findings:

• SA Labor leads the Opposition on a 2PP basis, 53% to 47%.
• One in three South Australians (32%) say health is the most important political issue right now, compared with one in four (27%) who say the economy and 13% who say climate change.
• Three in four South Australians (74%) are satisfied with the way Peter Malinauskas is doing his job as Premier, while 13% of South Australians are dissatisfied.
• The Premier therefore has a net satisfaction rating of +61%, compared with +32% net satisfaction rating for Opposition Leader David Speirs.
  • This compares with pre-election net satisfaction ratings of +11% for then-Premier Marshall and +23% for then-Opposition Leader Malinauskas.

“Health is still the number one political issue in the minds of South Australians, though both the economy and climate change have increased in importance for voters when compared to last year,” said Noah Schultz-Byard, SA Director at independent think tank The Australia Institute.

“South Australians are also significantly happier with the performance of their political leaders now than they were earlier in the year. Following his election as Premier, Peter Malinauskas’ net approval rating has increased from +23% in February to +61% currently.

“Opposition Leader David Speirs has a net approval rating of +32%, which is notably higher than the +23% recorded for then-Opposition Leader Malinauskas earlier in the year.

“The post-election period sees voters in a more generous mood when it comes to the performance of both the major party leaders, but only time will tell how long this honeymoon period will last.

“A little over six months on from the State Election, our research shows that Labor still leads the Opposition on a two-party preferred basis, though by a slightly smaller margin than was recorded at the poll in March.”