Essential Research: coronavirus and attitudes to China

A major souring in Australians’ attitudes to China but little change on coronavirus (at least since last week), according to the latest Essential poll.

Another week, another Essential Research coronavirus poll — this one focusing on attitudes to China, which have notably soured. As related by The Guardian, respondents were asked if they had a favourable or unfavourable view of China’s influences on Australian life, which produced a net rating of minus 30% on trade, compared with plus 1% last August, and a net rating of minus 40% for Chinese business operating in Australia, down from minus 21%. There were also scores of minus 26% for defence, minus 36% for politics and minus 9% for culture. Conversely, the United States scored net positive scores, albeit that these were quite a lot bigger for defence (plus 29%), business (plus 15%) and trade (plus 14%) than politics (plus 2%) and culture (plus 7%).

Asked which relationship would be more beneficial to strengthen, 42% favoured the US and 18% China, compared with 38% and 28% last August. Respondents had two bob each way on trade in that 53% thought Australia “needs to do all it can to avoid a trade war with China”, with 17% opposed, but 48% felt Australia should impose retaliatory tariffs, with 22% opposed. The poll found “more than half” believe China’s trade sanctions against Australia were motivated by the government’s call for an investigation into the origins of COVID-19.

The poll continued its weekly suite of questions on coronavirus, recording no change on the government’s handling of the crisis, which was rated positively by 73% and negatively by 11%. Levels of concern little changed on last week (79% either very or quite concerned, down one, and 21% either not at all or not that concerned, up one). A divide appears to be opening on restrictions, with higher responses for both lifting them as soon as possible (up five to 14%) and holding off (up two to 27%). The poll was conducted Thursday to Sunday from a sample of 1087; a full report should be published later today.

Note that below this post is a dedicated thread for the Eden-Monaro by-election, which you are encouraged to use if you have something specific to say on that subject.

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.

2,091 comments on “Essential Research: coronavirus and attitudes to China”

Comments Page 33 of 42
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  1. Firefox @ #1595 Thursday, May 28th, 2020 – 10:32 am

    “As others have asked, why is Canavan even on that QandA panel of five speakers? The Nationals get less than 5% of the vote. Pauline Hanson gets more votes (And I do not suggest she has anything to add). Where are any of the financiers who are now refusing to fund coal and gas projects?”

    ***

    The Nats, while they do only get around 5% of the vote, actually get far more votes than One Nation.

    One Nation – 2019: 438,587 (3.08%)

    Nationals – 2019: 642,233 (4.51%)

    For comparison, the Greens receive far more votes than both the Nats and One Nation combined

    Greens – 2019: 1,482,923 (10.40%)

    So yes, you are right to ask why the extremist Canavan is on the panel. It’s a good question without a good answer.

    https://results.aec.gov.au/24310/Website/HouseStateFirstPrefsByParty-24310-NAT.htm

    ‘“As others have asked, why is Canavan even on that QandA panel of five speakers?’
    Because he’s ‘good’ TV. He might say something ‘controversial’ he might start some argy bargy……
    But then, you know that’s why he’s on the panel.

  2. lizzie @ #1595 Thursday, May 28th, 2020 – 8:32 am

    Don’t forget the scorpion.

    May 2019 – “Scott Morrison has launched a blistering attack on unions, warning ACTU secretary Sally McManus will effectively be on the board of all companies under a Labor government.”

    And that would be a bad thing?

    Isn’t that the German model?

  3. It’s a Greens wish come true to have Joel Fitzgibbon out there talking about energy and climate. What an excellent turn of events!

    As a Labor member there is just no justification for having him in the Party let alone the Parliament. Least it reminds me WA isn’t the most broken branch, and it could be worse we could be the LNP or the Greens. So …

  4. Tim Hollo is Executive Director of the Green Institute and a Visiting Fellow at RegNet, the Australian National University’s School of Regulation and Global Governance

    Can Coronavirus Help Us Reshape Power?

    https://meanjin.com.au/blog/can-coronavirus-help-us-reshape-power/

    As our lives start to open up again, we should put our effort into projects and policy interventions which both help to embed that new common sense and also actively cultivate new, widely distributed power. Mutual aid groups provide one ideal focus for this work. These self-organised community groups can be the basis for local, decentralised democratic and practical projects from local food to community housing, shared transport and energy microgrids. The projects generate social cohesion, reduce environmental impacts, and become, over time, new spaces of collective power beyond both market and state. With so many businesses going under, there’s also space to rebuild with cooperatives, where the workers and customers collectively make decisions that are in their community’s interest rather than in the pursuit of profit. These grassroots initiatives open space in the political conversation for programs like universal housing, a shorter working week, universal basic income and mass job creation to flourish.

    The structures of power which have led us to where we are—a troubled, deeply unequal society on the brink of ecological collapse—are weaker right now than they’ve been in generations. For those of us struggling for change, it would be a mistake that could set us back many more years to continue to seek that change primarily by asking governments to deliver it.

    The evidence is clear that they simply won’t do what’s necessary. And, by turning to them, we’re actively buttressing their collapsing power and abdicating our own.

    The crown-shaped virus has given us the opportunity to reshape power, to hammer the pyramid flat. It’s time we recognised our own collective power, and used it to build the world we so desperately need.

  5. Firefox
    “Nationals – 2019: 642,233 (4.51%) ”

    Yes, but…

    I’m the last one to defend the Nationals. They’re political dinosaurs, heading for extinction.

    Nevertheless, the low Nats vote is impacted by the fact they don’t contest as many seats as the Greens, because the Coalition agreement prevents them from running in Lib-held seats.

  7. Ahead on penalties: Victoria leads nation on COVID-19 lockdown fines

    https://www.theage.com.au/national/victoria/ahead-on-penalties-victoria-leads-nation-on-covid-19-lockdown-fines-20200527-p54x0d.html

    “Victorians have been fined for breaking coronavirus rules at almost triple the rate of any other state or territory, with almost 6000 people each receiving a $1652 penalty since COVID-19 restrictions were imposed.

    Information obtained by The Age shows the number of fines in Victoria is nearly three times the number issued in Queensland and four times greater than in NSW – a state with more coronavirus cases and deaths than its southern counterpart.
    :::
    Victoria Police has issued 5957 fines for restriction breaches such as unnecessary travel, equating to a conservative estimate of more than $8 million in penalties.

    Civil rights lawyers say the disparity in numbers could mean Victoria has been overpoliced during the lockdown period.
    :::
    Victorian Equal Opportunity and Human Rights Commissioner Kristen Hilton said the police response had improved since the heavy-handed enforcement seen when fines began to be issued at the end of March.
    :::
    She called for more information to be released, including a breakdown of where fines had been issued, to show whether vulnerable communities were over-represented.
    :::
    The Police Accountability Project’s Anthony Kelly said there were concerns Victorian officers had been overzealous, particularly against lower-socioeconomic communities.

  8. WeWantPaul @ #1601 Thursday, May 28th, 2020 – 10:36 am

    It’s a Greens wish come true to have Joel Fitzgibbon out there talking about energy and climate. What an excellent turn of events!

    As a Labor member there is just no justification for having him in the Party let alone the Parliament. Least it reminds me WA isn’t the most broken branch, and it could be worse we could be the LNP or the Greens. So …

    Sweet baby Jesus you people are delusional.
    Fitzgibbon isn’t the fucking problem.

  9. “Because he’s ‘good’ TV. He might say something ‘controversial’ he might start some argy bargy……
    But then, you know that’s why he’s on the panel.”

    ***

    Ah yes, true – ratings.

    …which really should not be something the ABC takes into consideration when forming a panel to talk about politics. They aren’t Channel Nine, Seven, or Ten.

  12. Barney in Tanjung Bunga @ #1600 Thursday, May 28th, 2020 – 10:36 am

    lizzie @ #1595 Thursday, May 28th, 2020 – 8:32 am

    Don’t forget the scorpion.

    May 2019 – “Scott Morrison has launched a blistering attack on unions, warning ACTU secretary Sally McManus will effectively be on the board of all companies under a Labor government.”

    And that would be a bad thing?

    Isn’t that the German model?

    ‘Anthony Albanese has launched a blistering attack on the Liberal party, warning Hillsong preacher Bria………’ oh fuck it, what’s the point…

  13. I don’t see the problem.

    If their arguments are weak, then the others get to show that up on national TV.

  15. BK @ #1487 Thursday, May 28th, 2020 – 7:31 am

    One of the weirder moments of the COVID-19 crisis has been watching a conservative government introduce universal free childcare – if only temporarily writes Jess Irvine.
    https://www.smh.com.au/business/consumer-affairs/free-childcare-has-shown-the-benefits-of-generous-government-subsidies-20200527-p54wwl.html

    Not weird at all given how many politicians and their families have interests in childcare.

    As the article itself says ….

    Investments in quality childcare pay dividends.

    Sure does 🙁

  16. “Nevertheless, the low Nats vote is impacted by the fact they don’t contest as many seats as the Greens, because the Coalition agreement prevents them from running in Lib-held seats.”

    ***

    That Nats vote doesn’t include the Nats in the Qld LNP either by the way. So if you split the LNP into Libs and Nats you could add a few hundred thousand to the Nats total from Qld. Pretty hard to work out what the exact total would be but yeah much more than One Nation that’s for sure.

  17. mundo
    ““As others have asked, why is Canavan even on that QandA panel of five speakers?’
    Because he’s ‘good’ TV. He might say something ‘controversial’ he might start some argy bargy……
    But then, you know that’s why he’s on the panel.”

    I suspect a great many people will disagree with me here (probably vigorously). But I miss the old argy-bargy of Q+A. I thought the most recent Q+A was dead boring. I warmed to Rae Johnston, but the other panelists were wonks and swots, well-intentioned but studiously dull.

  18. Pegasus @ #1609 Thursday, May 28th, 2020 – 10:47 am

    Joel Fitzgibbon’s op piece in today’s Australian

    Morrison is chasing votes at the expense of exports

    We are a proud middle power. But it does us no good to bash our biggest customer in China for political advantage.

    https://www.afr.com/policy/economy/morrison-is-chasing-votes-at-the-expense-of-exports-20200527-p54wre

    Whose votes is F chasing?

    err, swinging voters, disaffected Labor voters with a slight rightish bent, swinging Liberals, anyone who might vote Labor, anyone over the age of 18.

    No Labor voter is going to cast an anti Labor vote because of Fitzgibbon.
    Not one.

  19. Philip Lowe is stressing the importance of good governance in the choice of infrastructure projects.

    I didn’t know his sense of humor was that dark.

  20. Kakuru @ #1615 Thursday, May 28th, 2020 – 10:52 am

    mundo
    ““As others have asked, why is Canavan even on that QandA panel of five speakers?’
    Because he’s ‘good’ TV. He might say something ‘controversial’ he might start some argy bargy……
    But then, you know that’s why he’s on the panel.”

    I suspect a great many people will disagree with me here (probably vigorously). But I miss the old argy-bargy of Q+A. I thought the most recent Q+A was dead boring. I warmed to Rae Johnston, but the other panelists were wonks and swots, well-intentioned but studiously dull.

    I doubt Canavan and Fitzy will come to blows, but they might kiss….that’d be a doozy….

  23. mundo
    “I doubt Canavan and Fitzy will come to blows, but they might kiss….that’d be a doozy…”

    Based on previous collisions between Canavan and Fitzy, I doubt they’ll be kissing. Or hugging.

    The ALP needs warhorses like Fitzgibbon. The fact that those on the far left hate him so much means he’s probably doing something right.

  24. The Greens lose practically everywhere.

    The Nats win in a few small spots.

    Bandt’s attempt to move in on Nats’ heartlands by ‘connecting’ with farmers was a sick joke.
    Farmers know that the Greens want to crucify them.

    The Greens should stick to astroturfing naive kiddies.

  25. There should be a Q&A on unlimited population growth with the entire panel consisting of Greens promoters of the Great Australian Migration Ponzi Scheme.

  27. Firefox @ #1533 Thursday, May 28th, 2020 – 8:52 am

    “Whereas an observer whose head wasn’t jammed up Player One’s arse would note a certain commonality between these two individuals’ levels of interest in each other.”

    ***

    That observer needs to extricate their head from wherever it may be and realise that their website is being flooded with personal bullshit that is supposedly against the rules. You had a go at me for simply speaking the truth about Joe Biden’s history but yet you are willing to let your blog be trashed with all this personal garbage. I don’t get it mate. You clearly put in a lot of hard work and research into writing the excellent articles that you do but then you undo it all by making absurd posts such as the one I have quoted. Instead of having a go at P1 for no good reason you should have been cleaning up the mess left by the trolls who litter your blog with this kind of personal abuse.

    To be fair to William, I think he was having a go at BB as least as much as me. And I can certainly understand his frustration. I am fed up to the back teeth with the constant abuse on this site as well, and am making an effort not to respond in kind (well, not so much anyway).

  29. One new case today in NSW

    And of course Gladys is compelled to point out that its a queenslander (in hotel quarantine).

  32. Labor got smashed in the regions because it was wedged by the Coalition and the Greens on coal.
    Fitz survived this wedge but only just.

    The Coalition will be hoping that Adani is still around at the next election.
    It will give them another three years of fossil slather.

    The Greens will be hoping that Adani is still around at the next election.
    It will give them another three years of salving their ADD.

    Meanwhile, while no-one in the Greens or the Coalition were watching, the Chinese have diversified their thermal coal sources. Australian export spot prices are below the cost of production.

    But Canavan will be beating his chest on Adani tonight. And the Greens will be astro turfing the kiddies on Adani.

    This perpetual motion wedge game is killing Australia.

    Australia desperately needs long game leadership from the Coalition and the Greens.

    All it is getting is pathetic party partisan wedges and kiddie astroturfing by people who should know better.

  34. bw

    Yes you keep arguing that Labor be weak on the environment and be for coal.

    It worked so well for Shorten. Unlike the Rudd 07 campaign.

  35. Ahh the Good TV thing.

    Funnily enough the best discussion panel show I can remember viewing was FAQ hosted by Adam Spencer which had a whole bunch of scientists and experts discussing the topic of the day. There was no need for a ID10T talking head shill on these shows. Funnily enough, these shows were more intelligent and provided answers and solutions to complex problems in an interesting way. No wonder that show had to be stopped…

  37. Kakuru @ #1623 Thursday, May 28th, 2020 – 11:01 am

    mundo
    “I doubt Canavan and Fitzy will come to blows, but they might kiss….that’d be a doozy…”

    Based on previous collisions between Canavan and Fitzy, I doubt they’ll be kissing. Or hugging.

    The ALP needs warhorses like Fitzgibbon. The fact that those on the far left hate him so much means he’s probably doing something right.

    Yes, it’s interesting how those who criticise Fitzgibbon pay no heed to what his constituents actually want out of him, their elected representative.

  38. boerwar
    “Labor got smashed in the regions because it was wedged by the Coalition and the Greens on coal.
    Fitz survived this wedge but only just.”

    Yep.

  39. Are we entering a cold war phase?

    …………………………………….
    Dr. Dena Grayson
    @DrDenaGrayson
    ·
    4h
    #HongKong serves as a key trade/financial hub for mainland #China, yet has special trade status with the US.

    If China proceeds with its threat to violate international agreements that protect #HongKong’s autonomy, #China (and sadly, Hong Kong) will pay a very hefty price.
    Quote Tweet

    John Schindler
    @20committee
    · 5h
    In case it wasn’t sufficiently clear already, SECSTATE Pompeo, by calling Beijing’s bluff over Hong Kong today in stern diplomatic language, signifies that the era of great power competition between the USA & PRC has officially begun. No more wishful thinking. Reality is back.

  40. Meanwhile in Canada

    National Post
    @nationalpost
    ·
    6h
    Huawei’s Meng loses key B.C. court decision in extradition case
    Huawei executive Meng Wanzhou loses key B.C. court decision in extradition case
    Associate Chief Justice Heather Holmes rejected her argument the process should be stopped because the accusations were political at heart
    nationalpost.com

  41. Cat

    Thats why I posted about vested interest.

    I expect Fitzgibbon to promote coal because thats what his voters are convinced he should do.

    Thats exactly why Labor should not put him in that invidious position on a national tv show.

    The local conflicts with the national and world interest

  44. Ryan Struyk
    @ryanstruyk
    ·
    28m
    US coronavirus deaths:

    90 days ago: 0 deaths
    80 days ago: 21 deaths
    70 days ago: 149 deaths
    60 days ago: 2,043 deaths
    50 days ago: 12,895 deaths
    40 days ago: 37,054 deaths
    30 days ago: 56,255 deaths
    20 days ago: 75,662 deaths
    10 days ago: 89,562 deaths

  45. “Investments in quality childcare pay dividends.”

    The Uber Reich Potato would definitely agree with that statement. He’s been rorting millions from the system for ages and isn’t about to stop.

  46. The Government’s response so far is that it would rather not borrow and spend the cash, leaving the Commonwealth with a lower total debt.

    But it’s on this crucial point that the overwhelming consensus of economists — whether they’re from academia, think tanks, banks or elsewhere — pretty much all disagree with the Government.

    Former Reserve Bank board member, and now ANU academic, Professor Warwick McKibbin best sums up the consensus view.

    “We can afford in this country to have a very clear, long, government-supported recovery over time in the economy and I think we should make the most of it,” he told The Business this week.

    “Given how much it costs in terms of the interest rate — close to zero to borrow and most activities would give a very high rate of return — this is an ideal opportunity for a government to step in, but have a plan to step out when it’s needed.”

    https://www.abc.net.au/news/2020-05-28/60-billion-coronavirus-jobkeeper-shortfall-should-be-spent/12290470?section=business

  47. And Victoria blots its copybook again..
    10 cases.
    Another hotel worker
    6 family contacts of previous cases
    3 overseas

  48. CC – the overall trend for Victoria is extremely positive however.

    Total active cases yesterday sat at 57.

    I’d say it’s 50/50 if we can stamp out the fire completely. NSW are bringing extra logs…

  50. Alpha Zero

    I can’t comment until NSW updates its database properly. Hard to tell who is winning. Victoria was before it got cluster fucked.

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