Essential Research: coronavirus restrictions and conspiracy theories

A poll suggests a significant proportion of the population believes coronavirus was engineered in a Chinese laboratory, but other conspiracy theories remain consigned to the fringe.

Courtesy of The Guardian, some headline results of another weekly Essential Research poll on coronavirus, the full report of which should be published later today. This includes regular questions on federal and state governments’ handling with the crisis, of which we are only told that respondents remain highly positive, and on easing restrictions, for which we are told only 25% now consider it too soon, which is down two on last time and has been consistently declining over five surveys.

Beyond that, the survey gauged response to a number of what might be described as conspiracy theories concerning the virus. By far the most popular was the notion that the virus “was engineered and released from a Chinese laboratory in Wuhan”, which has received a certain amount of encouragement from the Daily Telegraph but is starkly at odds with the scientific consensus. Agreement and disagreement with this proposition was tied on 39%.

Thirteen per cent subscribed to a theory that Bill Gates was involved in the creation and spread of the virus, with 71% disagreeing; 13% agreed the virus was not dangerous and was being used to force people to get vaccines, with 79% disagreeing; 12% thought the 5G network was being used to spread the virus, with 75% disagreeing; and 20% agreed the number of deaths was being exaggerated, with “more than 70%” disagreeing. The poll also found 77% agreed that the outbreak in China was worse than the official statistics showed.

The poll was conducted Thursday to Sunday from a sample of 1073.

UPDATE: Full report 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.

3,318 thoughts on “Essential Research: coronavirus restrictions and conspiracy theories”

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  1. guytaur @ #819 Friday, May 22nd, 2020 – 2:49 pm

    AE

    So you contend Dairy Farmers and the ABC are going to lead to dictatorship too?

    That’s what Baba is trying to pretend.

    Dairy Farmers is owned by Chinese company Lion Dairy and Drinks. Has not been a cooperative since 2008, when it was sold toNational Foods for 1 billion dollars. The only co-op dairy company left in Australia is Norco. Headquarters is in Lismore, main factory Labrador Qld.

  2. Adrian Beaumont post on opinion polls in New Zealand

    He notes that NZ First and the Greens are polling at 5% or less, which would mean they would return no members in an election.

    Fabulous prospect for NZ.

  3. Imagine the smile on Joshie’s face when he found $60bill had accidentally slid down the back of the couch.

  4. Guytaur: arguing that the nasty socialists are something else we ought to call “communists” is a bit like some Serbs I know who say that the people who committed all the atrocities against the Bosnian and Croats weren’t “Serbs” but “Yugoslavs”.

    And WWP: arguing that Corbyn’s ideas were nothing like old-style Bolshevism just tells me that you know very little about Corbyn’s ideas and, more importantly, the whole rationale for and behaviour of the infiltrator movement that called itself “Momentum” but which was just the old Militant Tendency in a new guise.
    See if you can download from somewhere the magnificent 1980s TV series GBH, starring Robert Lindsay and Michael Palin. Wonderful stuff and very apposite.

  5. The bastards accepted it would be a big billion spend and were prepared to wear it. Suddenly it’s “we don’t spend as much as Labor”.

  6. I hope Albo and Jim have a pen and paper and are jotting down some of PK’s attack lines.
    Perhaps they could try a few out?

  7. Yabba

    Thanks. So since ceasing to be a cooperative Diary Farmers is closer to a dictatorship than it was previously.

    If we are doing fear that’s the go to bogey man today.

  8. The key ALP attack line here should be “the LNP thought that money was needed to help the economy recover. If they don’t use the money they thought was needed, then we’re all screwed”

    I always thought the LNP would screw the recovery, but I never imagined they would do it like this…

  9. But it’s debt, debt, debt.

    That’s what borrowing in a recession is all about, Josh. Don’t you listen to the real financial advisors?

  10. Baba

    It’s very simple. Socialism is NOT communism.

    Communism is one party rule and central planning, NOT socialism.

  11. Mundo – the government aren’t going to turn around and go “gosh, we screwed up”. Of course they’re going to try to make this sound positive.

    It’s up the ALP (and the other progressives) to pursue them on it.

  12. Blobbit @ #2466 Friday, May 22nd, 2020 – 4:20 pm

    The key ALP attack line here should be “the LNP thought that money was needed to help the economy recover. If they don’t use the money they thought was needed, then we’re all screwed”

    I always thought the LNP would screw the recovery, but I never imagined they would do it like this…

    Wishful thinking folks.
    The LNP are on a winner here.
    No question.

    Anyone seen or heard from the opposition – the Labor party – today?

  13. Blobbit @ #2469 Friday, May 22nd, 2020 – 4:21 pm

    Mundo – the government aren’t going to turn around and go “gosh, we screwed up”. Of course they’re going to try to make this sound positive.

    It’s up the ALP (and the other progressives) to pursue them on it.

    ‘It’s up the ALP (and the other progressives) to pursue them on it.’
    Well, yes. Of course. That’s what Mundo is on about.
    All.
    The.
    Time.

  14. Mundo

    “Jim Chalmers has already responded:

    Another day, another shambles from a Treasurer who just can’t stop seriously stuffing up this key program.

    This just shows you can’t trust a hopeless Government with a good idea like wage subsidies for workers.

    After all the lectures about fiscal responsibility, Scott Morrison and Josh Frydenberg have had to admit to getting their numbers wrong by $60 billion.

    For weeks they’ve been telling casuals and others that the program was full when in reality they were 3 million workers short.

    If they can’t get this basic maths right how can we expect them to get the recovery right?”

    Albo presser at 345 according to the Guardian – should have happened?

  15. “Breaking: Big revision on JobKeeper numbers. Treasury & ATO say a reporting error by around 1,000 businesses, means they can now revise DOWN the number of recipients from 6.5m to 3.5m. JobKeeper now estimated to cost taxpayer $70b instead of $130b.”

    Aaaand survey says….

  16. Cud Chewer
    Thanks for the detailed reply. At the moment I am limited to a very old iPad for information and can’t access all the graphs. From what reading I have done I am concerned that although the picture in Vic. Looks worse at the moment, the level of testing combined with more restrictions than NSW will ultimately result in a better outcome than NSW who are lifting restrictions whilst still having community spread.

  17. The research shows that most people attach no real meaning to big numbers with lots of zeroes. They are just incomprehensible. The latest from the ATO will pass them by. Millions are almost intelligible. Billions or trillions mean nothing.

  18. Blobbit @ #2474 Friday, May 22nd, 2020 – 4:24 pm

    Mundo

    “Jim Chalmers has already responded:

    Another day, another shambles from a Treasurer who just can’t stop seriously stuffing up this key program.

    This just shows you can’t trust a hopeless Government with a good idea like wage subsidies for workers.

    After all the lectures about fiscal responsibility, Scott Morrison and Josh Frydenberg have had to admit to getting their numbers wrong by $60 billion.

    For weeks they’ve been telling casuals and others that the program was full when in reality they were 3 million workers short.

    If they can’t get this basic maths right how can we expect them to get the recovery right?”

    Albo presser at 345 according to the Guardian – should have happened?

    Watching Albo now.
    Good lines.

    KABOOM!
    Imagine if this was Labor government!!!!!
    Now we’re talking.

  19. If Labor was smart they would be demanding this $60 billion windfall should be used to support the economy in other ways. It’s a no lose no brainer really.

    The initial Treasury over estimate will blow over but the economic impact of Covid will last quite a while yet.

  20. As a former project manager in the Federal Government – this should have been picked up quickly when thousands of businesses had 1,500 (not 1) employees.

    Quality Assurance on returned forms would have picked that there are very few, not thousands, with exactly 1,500 employees.

  21. There wouldn’t be one voter in 5,000 who could care less about a semantic argument as to the difference between an extinct communism and a fictional socialism.

  22. This is Chalmers’ big opportunity.

    He should be on Insiders on Sunday and rather than a mono-tone address, it should be an interview to remember full of colour and vigour that engages the media and thus the voter.

  23. CI

    “The research shows that most people attach no real meaning to big numbers with lots of zeroes. They are just incomprehensible. The latest from the ATO will pass them by. Millions are almost intelligible. Billions or trillions mean nothing.”

    Absolutely true unfortunately and the Liberals often exploit this.

    Its another reason why Labor should have matched its revenue generation measures before the last election with an equially unashamed nation building and reofrm program. The punters don’t care about the big numbers – they do care about the principle. What are they getting back?

  24. All Labor has to do is cite the excluded from JobKeeper. All those artists casuals university sector people.

    Put a face to the statistic. Bring on a casual at the presser. Explain how this person missed out.

    The Workchoices campaign approach.

  25. Rex Douglas @ #2486 Friday, May 22nd, 2020 – 4:31 pm

    This is Chalmers’ big opportunity.

    He should be on Insiders on Sunday and rather than a mono-tone address, it should be an interview to remember full of colour and vigour that engages the media and thus the voter.

    Jesus christ Rex, get out of Mundo’s head!

  26. Briefly is right.

    If it were an extra $2.50 per week tax to those mum & dad workers everyone would be freaking out. $60 billion…. bah.

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