Essential Research and Morgan: coronavirus, superannuation and trust in business leaders

Generally favourable reaction to the government’s handling of coronavirus, a big thumbs up to access to superannuation, and yah boo sucks to Murdoch, Palmer, Rinehart and Harvey.

The fortnightly Essential Research poll focuses, naturally enough, on coronavirus, with 45% rating the federal government’s response good or very good, and 29% poor or very poor. According to The Guardian’s report, it would seem the latter tend to be those most worried about the virus, as measured by a question on whether respondents felt the situation was being overblown, with which “one third” agreed while 28% thought the opposite.

Over the course of three fortnightly polls, the proportion rating themselves very concerned has escalated from 25% to 27% to 39%, while the results for quite concerned have gone from 43% to 36% and back again. The Guardian’s report does not relate the latest results for “not that concerned” and “not at all concerned”, which were actually up in the last poll, from 26% to 28% and 6% to 9% respectively. Further questions relate to trust in various sources of information, notably the government and the media, but we will have to wait for the publication of the full report later today to get a clear handle on them. Suffice to say that Essential still has nothing to tell us on voting intention.

In other findings, 49% said they wanted the opposition to fall in behind the government’s decisions while 33% preferred that it review and challenge them, and 42% now consider themselves likely to catch the virus, up from 31% on a fortnight ago. Seventy-two per cent reported washing their hands more often, 60% said they were avoiding social gatherings, and 33% reported stocking up on groceries.

We also have a Roy Morgan SMS survey of 723 respondents, which was both conducted and published yesterday, showing 79% support for the government’s decision to allow those in financial difficulty to access $20,000 of their superannuation. As noted in the previous post, an earlier such poll of 974 respondents from Wednesday and Thursday recorded levels of trust in various Australian politicians (plus Jacinda Ardern, who fared best of all); a further set of results from the same poll finds Dick Smith, Mike Cannon-Brookes, Andrew Forrest and Alan Joyce rating best out of designated list of business leaders, with Rupert Murdoch, Clive Palmer, Gina Rinehart and Gerry Harvey performed worst. We are yet to receive hard numbers from either set of questions, but they are apparently forthcoming.

UPDATE: Full report from Essential Research here.

Author: William Bowe

William Bowe is a Perth-based election analyst and occasional teacher of political science. His blog, The Poll Bludger, has existed in one form or another since 2004, and is one of the most heavily trafficked websites on Australian politics.

5,145 comments on “Essential Research and Morgan: coronavirus, superannuation and trust in business leaders”

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  1. Player One @ #4782 Sunday, March 29th, 2020 – 6:33 pm

    Rex Douglas @ #4776 Sunday, March 29th, 2020 – 6:29 pm

    Labor could be very wrong wanting to go harder on a lockdown.

    People have had it too good for a long time. If freedom is completely taken away there could be a major rebellion. How many are on the brink now …?

    Most Australian’s idea of rebellion is to spit on a credit card or cough on a policeman.

    We don’t do ‘rebellion’ here.

    People have had to put up with the Lib-Lab muppet show for 10 yrs.

    How do you think they will take to taking orders from said muppets to completely lock down ..?

  2. Doesn’t seem like there are more restrictions being announced, unless he’s doing that after running through all the tech people can get support and info through.

  3. Scout @ #4723 Sunday, March 29th, 2020 – 5:36 pm

    I lived in Iowa and Minnesota for a couple of years,

    Still keep in touch with people in Iowa,

    Have you read any of the John Sandford books, detective thrillers with the main protagonist, Lucas Davenport set in the twin cities Minneapolis St Paul ?

    Sandford grew up in Iowa, writes very well IMO, more in a British style then American and was a journo until he was about 40.

    Grap one of his books if you come across them. Has written close to 50 books in under 30 years but his main character is davenport.

  4. Oh for fucks sake you lot stop fucking fighting over who is the most racist cVnt on this blog.

    It is getting bloody boring. It sounds like you all need to take up pencils and colouring-in books.

  5. Confessions

    All the reasonably well informed people figured this out 2 weeks ago. More would have, had Scomo and his fuckwit CMO not confused the messaging.

  6. Social gatherings were limited to 10 people, now they are limited to 2 people in public spaces— Lenore Taylor (@lenoretaylor) March 29, 2020

    Good luck with that.

    Labor will be happy about it.

  7. CCh
    Given my expectations of the most corrupt prime minister and the most corrupt government since Federation, it is practically impossible for them to disappoint me.
    Morrison does not just lack the mental furniture to figure out policy dilemmas.
    He lacks the mental house. Third rater. Cometh the hour and goeth the man.
    Hunt is sleazing around with his look-at -moi feel good announceables while his clients are dying.
    Dutton is in purdah.
    Robert is a born-again slackarse.
    Taylor is dodging his dues.
    McCormack gets up and announces that Morrison has insisted all along that none of this is about politics. Fucking liars. Both of them.

  8. Further bans on outside gatherings:

    In addition, in public areas public playgrounds, outside gyms and skateparks will be closed as from tomorrow and boot camps will be reduced to two, which doesn’t really make it a boot camp, that makes it a private session with your trainer for those who are accessing those services.

  9. Puffytmd @ #4807 Sunday, March 29th, 2020 – 6:38 pm

    Oh for fucks sake you lot stop fucking fighting over who is the most racist cVnt on this blog.

    It is getting bloody boring. It sounds like you all need to take up pencils and colouring-in books.

    If those responsible would stop bringing it back up each and every bloody day … 🙁

  10. shellbell yep it says we’re now only doubling once every 4.6 days. So we’ll get to 45,000 cases and run out of ICU beds in 16 days rather than 10.

  11. DavidWH

    I can accept all that is happening apart from not being able to see the children and grand children. That sucks big time.

    That really sucks. My daughter and her son (my grandson) currently live with us, and we have all been working from home, including the young one, for more than a week.

    But there is no chance of seeing the other 3 grandchildren.

    Also, today daughter wanted to invite my 85 year old mother around for a roast. I reluctantly suggested it was a bad idea and she agreed. I am still going to mum’s place, luckily 10 mins walk, but I am reluctant to take anyone else with me.

    I ring each day.

  12. I didn’t realize that P1 was Rexie Darling’s lamprey…
    … it just goes to show.

    Anyhoo, in deference to William’s blood pressure and rules this is my last post on the general topic of Rexies’ trolling and P1’s lovely pick up of same.

  13. BW and C@t

    It might be Carl Hiaasen AND Elmore Leonard…

    Thanks! I have a Carl Hiaasen I picked up in the states some years ago. I have not got around to reading it yet. I am frantically busy at the moment, but expect that in about 6 weeks time I will suddenly have. a lot of time on my hands, and will put this book near the top of my list.

  14. Boerwar @ #4815 Sunday, March 29th, 2020 – 6:45 pm

    I didn’t realize that P1 was Rexie Darling’s lamprey…
    … it just goes to show.

    Anyhoo, in deference to William’s blood pressure and rules this is my last post on the general topic of Rexies’ trolling and P1’s lovely pick up of same.

    A typical Boerwar hit and run…

  15. NSW Health announcement re Physios in ICU (positioning etc):
    https://www.health.nsw.gov.au/news/Pages/20200329_02.aspx

    NSW Health physiotherapists will provide vital support as part of the multidisciplinary team in the critical care environments, assisting patients with respiratory performance, weaning from ventilators and pulmonary rehabilitation. Hospitals will use this training to support practical skills of physios in intensive care units.

    It might be the case the pts who can get themselves to prone (perhaps with physio guidance / assistance) instead of being moved (by nurses) do better, even independently of the implied better starting point.

    NSW has shared the programme design with the other states (it’s part of the $700M COVID19 health package)

  16. I seriously recommend to the people here to study this animated graph.

    https://aatishb.com/covidtrends/

    What it does is clearly separate out 4 kinds of country.

    1. The US that is sailing off into catastrophe. Probably soon to be joined by Brazil, Russia etc.
    2. Places like Italy, Spain etc whose policy to lock down and isolate are paying off to some extent. Italy in particular is now trending to linear (fixed number of new cases per day). But after having paid a heavy price and will now continue to see many new cases and more deaths stretching out until there is a vaccine in a year or so.
    3. Countries like Singapore, South Korea, Japan that opted for early mass testing and surveillance without lock downs. These countries were early successes, but are also unstable successes and could easily see a second wave.
    4. China. Pull out all stops. Isolate without exception. Tight lock down. Result, near eradication.

    Which of these do you wish Australia to look like?

  17. Perhaps he was referring to the moratorium on evictions.

    Morrison announces moratorium on evictions

    The Prime Minister says following National Cabinet that there will be a moratorium on evictions for the next six months on the basis of “financial stress”.

  18. Boerwar @ #4737 Sunday, March 29th, 2020 – 5:47 pm

    EGT
    I am reminded of the RN chap who thought it would be a good idea to get some bod from the Maths department in either Oxford or Cambridge during WW2. What to do about the war ending situation in which the Brits were losing more ships than they could build?
    Application of maths to convoys v single ships independently routed v independent patrols of anti-sub vessels.
    No (statistical) brainer.
    Convoys it was.

    Peter Bernstein in “Against the Gods” – the remarkable story of risk, tells the story of a Professor of Mathematics in WW2 Berlin (I think) who refused to go to bomb shelters during bombing raids etc.

    He would tell them about the mathematical probability of being killed and point out how improbable the elephant in Berlin Zoo for example would be killed.

    Then one night he appeared in the bomb shelter once the siren went and when asked why, said – last night they got the elephant.

  19. Cud Chewer @ #4689 Sunday, March 29th, 2020 – 6:32 pm

    C@t

    It would be nice if 60 minutes were to also dump on the government for not closing all borders sooner. Not just China but the US and Italy especially.

    Also, the kind of reporting I want to see is “we need mass testing.. why is the government not pulling out all stops to acquire/make millions of test kits”.

    I don’t expect a lot out of 60 minutes though.

    A little is a lot with shows like that on Channel 9. 🙂

  20. CC. Clearly number 4. To that end I also support the deployment of 500,000 soldiers of the Chinese P.L.A. I am also willing to personally round up anti-Chinese dissidents such as our own Bushfire Bill. Cheers.

  21. Shellbell:

    CC

    No

    This table you deployed a few days says the doubling rate is slowing.

    The doubling time is (probably) increasing. That is less bad, but not good if the process remains exponential.

    I’d be a bit careful about using the term rate.

  22. Confessions @ #4733 Sunday, March 29th, 2020 – 6:50 pm

    Perhaps he was referring to the moratorium on evictions.

    Morrison announces moratorium on evictions

    The Prime Minister says following National Cabinet that there will be a moratorium on evictions for the next six months on the basis of “financial stress”.

    I wonder though if that means that the landlord will be free to recoup his losses, say by a rent increase, when the extraordinary situation ends?

  23. Clear as mud. This is how he rambles.

    It is there for their own protection and so what we are encouraging elderly residents to do is to stay home as much as is practicable. Should they need support then I’m sure they can get support through their community or others and I’m sure they could even ring their local MP and I’m sure their local MP would want to help them in any way they could at either a state or federal level because I have seen that already happening through many of our electorate offices but I’m sure they could get support through our community.

  24. Dandy Murray:

    FFS, exponential curves don’t flatten. They just approach vertical less quickly.

    Quite so – noting of course that the approach to vertical is as to the asymptote – never actually gets to vertical…

  25. Morrison refusing to answer questions because he is ‘not interested in the politics’.
    Unaccountable and corrupt liars abound.

  26. No Evictions for 6 months….. Six months free rent!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
    Sucks to be a landlord at the moment. But at least they can negatively gear that.

  27. GG.

    Do keep up. They are talking about an inflection in the rate of acceleration.

    This means the numbers are still growing by increasing amounts each day, just the rate at which the new case numbers are growing is slightly less than before.

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