Research // Elections, Politics & Parties
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May 2022
Exit Poll – Living in the Lodge
The Australia Institute conducted a special exit poll, surveying a nationally representative sample of 1,424 Australians from 6pm Saturday May 21, which asked whether the Prime Minister should live in The Lodge. Key findings: • Over half of Australians (57%) agree that the Prime Minister should live in The Lodge in Canberra, compared to 20%
Between Sense and Nonsense
The electoral pendulum performs no better than an alternative method, the cube law, in predicting the overall result of an election. In its common, alternative use as tool to predict individual seat changes, it is successful less than half of the time.
Polling – Senate Voting and Election Awareness Issues
The Australia Institute surveyed a nationally representative sample of 1,002 Australians about their Senate voting intentions and their understanding of how Senate voting works. The results show: A significant proportion of Australians remain uncertain about important aspects of Senate preferential voting: More than four in ten (43%) respondents thought that putting a 6 beside a
Polling – Senate voting intention
In April and May, The Australia Institute surveyed nationally representative samples of Australians about who they intend to vote for in the Senate.
Polling: Goldstein Research
uComms conducted a survey of 855 residents in the federal seat of Goldstein on behalf of The Australia Institute during the evening of 27 April 2022 using self-completed automated voice polling methodologies. The poll was conducted with a sample size of 855 people via telephone, with a margin of error of 3.34%. The poll is
April 2022
Polling – Political messaging
The Australia Institute surveyed a nationally representative sample of 1,002 Australians about their attitudes towards six political messages, three from the Labor Party and three from the Liberal Party. The two messages with highest total agreement were Labor messages: that “Scott Morrison is all announcement, no delivery” (53% agree, 31% disagree) and “Labor will put
Boothby Polling – April 2022
uComms conducted a survey of 801 residents in the SA Federal seat of Boothby on behalf of The Australia Institute during the evening of 30 March 2022 using self-completed automated voice polling methodologies.
Sturt Polling – April 2022
uComms conducted a survey of 809 residents in the SA Federal seat of Sturt on behalf of The Australia Institute during the evening of 30 March 2022 using self-completed automated voice polling methodologies.
Bad impressions
Last year, the Morrison Government spent $145.3 million on campaign advertising, a sum that exceeds the normal annual advertising spend of companies like Coca-Cola, McDonald’s, Amazon, Pepsi and Qantas.
March 2022
Polling – February 2022 – SA Ministerial Name Recognition
The Australia Institute surveyed a representative sample of 602 South Australians, asking them which State Government Ministers and shadow (Opposition) Ministers they had heard of.
Polling – February 2022 – SA Satisfaction Ratings
The Australia Institute surveyed a representative sample of 602 South Australians about their level of satisfaction regarding the job being done by the Premier, Steven Marshall, and the Leader of the Opposition, Pater Malinauskas. The results show that, while the Premier’s total satisfaction is slightly higher than the Opposition Leaders, dissatisfaction rates were also higher
February 2022
Polling – February 2022 – SA Borders and COVID
The Australia Institute surveyed a representative sample of 602 South Australians about the State Government’s handling of COVID-19 and the opening of the state borders on November 23, 2021. The results show that: One in two South Australians (51%) disagree with the State Government’s decision to open the borders in November. Two in five (42%)
Polling – February 2022 – SA State Voting Intention
The Australia Institute surveyed 602 adults living in South Australia, asking about state election voting intention, between the 1st and 14th of February 2022, online through Dynata’s panel, with representative samples by gender and age.
December 2021
No good deed goes unpunished
In the last parliamentary sitting weeks of 2021, the Morrison Government and Labor Opposition negotiated a deal to pass “political campaigner” legislation, although the legislation now refers to “significant third parties” instead. Charities, including the Australia Institute, have expressed serious concerns that the legislation is ill-considered, rushed and designed to quell legitimate charity advocacy ahead
November 2021
Identifying the problem
The Government’s proposed voter ID laws risk discouraging Australians from voting, in defiance of the country’s proud history of ensuring everyone can and does vote. There is no evidence that voter fraud is a problem or that voter ID would address it. The Government’s priority should be the 2.7 million Australians whose votes were not
October 2021
Submission: Electoral Act Review
The Tasmanian Government’s proposals to make political donations and election spending more transparent are a step in the right direction, but the new laws do not go far enough. The legislation still leaves Tasmania with the weakest regulation of third-party campaigners, such as industry lobby groups, of any state or territory in Australia.
August 2021
Free speech in the lucky country
Freedom of expression is under threat in Australia. So far, parliament, the judiciary, the press and the public have failed to fully secure free speech.
July 2021
State Revival
Australia’s states and territories have taken the lead in addressing the COVID-19 pandemic, supported by constitutional powers and popular mandates. With the states newly emboldened, further action on climate change, changes to federal-state financial arrangements, and reform of National Cabinet could all be on the agenda.
Treasury Says: Productivity Matters but Coalition Policy Doesn’t
The latest Intergenerational Report (IGR 2021) reveals that the Treasury Department is more pessimistic about the medium-term outlook for productivity growth in 2021 than when they released the 2015 IGR. In fact, the IGR 2021 reveals Treasury currently believes that none of the Coalition Government’s major reforms introduced since 2015 have had any impact on
Ensuring both territories’ rights
The ACT and the Northern Territory are proven democracies that should be free to decide voluntary assisted dying laws in their jurisdictions. Polling research shows that most Australians agree.
March 2021
Polling – Gender issues and quotas
The Australia Institute surveyed a nationally representative sample of 1005 Australians about their thoughts on gender quotas for the Liberal Party and their confidence in the Prime Minister’s ability to address issues primarily affecting women. Results show that: More than half (53%) of Australians support the Liberal Party setting gender quotas to achieve a representative
Representative, Still
One of the most extensive studies of Australians’ knowledge of and attitudes to the Senate finds that the Senate is a unique, powerful legislative body, but Australians are confused about key details of its powers and operation. The Senate provides accountability, representation and diversity to a greater extent than the House of Representatives.
Commonwealth Integrity Commission (CIC) Consultation
This submission is made on behalf of the National Integrity Committee. We are an independent group of retired judges who have been involved in advocating the need for a National Integrity Commission. The Committee was formed with the assistance of The Australia Institute. However, we remain an entirely independent body acting in the public interest
January 2021
Polling: Prime Minister Morrison’s response to COVID-19 misinformation and the US Capitol riots
The Australia Institute surveyed a nationally representative sample of 1,003 Australians about how Prime Minister Scott Morrison should handle two current issues: a Liberal politician who posted misinformation about the COVID-19 pandemic on social media and President Trump’s role in last week’s riots in the US Capitol.
December 2020
Polling: National Political Issues
The Australia Institute surveyed nationally representative samples of over 1,000 Australians each month from August about what they think the most important national political issue is right now. In every month, more Australians identified the economy as the most important national political issue than any other issue (between 37% and 48%). Health was second-most likely
Polling – Truth in political advertising in Queensland
New research from The Australia Institute has shown that a significant majority of Queensland voters want to see truth in political advertising laws introduced at a state level, following the 2020 state election. The Australia Institute surveyed 1,447 Queenslanders between 3 and 7 November 2020. Only people who voted in the 2020 state election were
November 2020
August 2020
Polling – SA Parliament Integrity
New research from The Australia Institute shows three in five South Australians (58%) do not trust Members of State Parliament when it comes to claiming their salary and benefits.
July 2020
Comes with the territory: Ensuring fair political representation for Northern Territorians – and all Australians
Australia’s federal parliamentarians have never been so thinly spread. Whereas at Federation there were 51,000 Australians per House of Representatives MP, there are now 170,000 Australians per MP. That leaves MPs stretched and voters disengaged. It is bad enough that there are 170,000 Australians per MP, but it is even worse that rounding the NT’s
April 2020
Parliamentary Scrutiny During the COVID-19 Crisis in Tasmania
In the last week of March 2020, both the Tasmanian State Parliament and New Zealand’s Parliament voted to suspend sittings. New Zealand adjourned for about five weeks (till the 28th of April) and the Tasmanian parliament for about five months, until August. Before the Tasmanian Parliament adjourned, it granted extraordinary powers to the government through