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”

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  1. There was an earlier post about perhaps Morrison could intervene in the NSW Govt decision to freeze PS pay. While he is generally a happy hypocrite he probably won’t since his government decided to delay already agreed APS pay rises by at least 6 months.

    And he has $60 billion spare he could use.

    It was also at the same time that the government and management were lauding the APS for their dedication and effort in providing COVID-19 services and while Services Australia was issuing guidelines on fatigue management for staff working more than 56 hours a week.

  2. nath says:
    Thursday, May 28, 2020 at 8:32 pm
    D&M.
    I posted that excerpt without comment because I’m not sure what Sally McManus is up to but I thought a critical perspective on the recent IR manoeuvres was worth looking at. I am not a communist or even much of a socialist really. It’s hard to keep a straight face as a socialist when you spend as much time as I do in a jacuzzi. So I stand as a Social Democrat who lives cash!
    _____________________________________
    ACTU knows betting on a Labor Govt is highly unlikely to happen. They cannot afford another Your Rights at Work. What to do? Cherish the crumbs thrown at you by the Father of the Nation, Scott Morrison.

  3. nath

    I posted that excerpt without comment because I’m not sure what Sally McManus is up to but I thought a critical perspective on the recent IR manoeuvres was worth looking at. I am not a communist or even much of a socialist really. It’s hard to keep a straight face as a socialist when you spend as much time as I do in a jacuzzi. So I stand as a Social Democrat who lives cash!

    I am also watching Sally McManus and the Union movement closely. Have they been captured? Or are they playing a smart game?

    I really cannot tell, even though she drinks at my local (before COVID-19 shut it down).

    Also, I do enjoy our exchanges. It is not often I get to show my arcane knowledge of the various internationals, in polite society.

  4. Oakeshott Country

    The Kiwis quite rightly reckon that if ‘Country X’ attacked then they have zero chance of stopping them because all the rest of their allies would be forked by then.However, although NZ has assumed they could not resist an invasion they do plan a guerrilla response to such an invasion. You must admit they have a most excellent terrain for doing so.

  5. The Kiwis quite rightly reckon that if ‘Country X’ attacked then they have zero chance of stopping them because all the rest of their allies would be forked by then.However, although NZ has assumed they could not resist an invasion they do plan a guerrilla response to such an invasion. You must admit they have a most excellent terrain for doing so.

    They are also smarter at international politics, whereas given half a chance Indonesia and East Timor have good reason to invade us. Not to mention China, although defending even 30 seconds of a Chinese attack would be impossible.

  6. D&M

    My gen is along for the ride: observers, perhaps catchers in the Rye where we can.

    The next gen are the interesting ones.

    Observing the pattern of next gen responses has been quite heartening for me.
    The first is that the early impulse was generally concern and active behaviours to look out for their elders.
    The second was the care for partners and children.
    The third was concern and fairness for their colleagues and workers. Examples include feeding hundreds out of their own pockets to save people from hunger.
    The fourth was to get agile. I know of the following examples: One person is building a brand new international business that already employs 12 people. The target is to $2USmillion per annum profit by this time next year. The idea was burbling away in the background pre Virus. What to do with a good idea and some idle time locked up at home?
    Whammo!
    Another increased his wage by 25%. Another simply cut the business overheads to as close to zero as possible. Everyone took a 20% pay cut. Lots of thinking going into building the business in new directions. Another switched jobs and got a pay increase. In each case, where it applied, the trad office rents and the travel budgets were killed stone dead.
    At a personal level nearly all of them have cut their discretionary spend by more than half.
    The farmers I know have their ears pinned back after the Drought. They will produce scads of produce.

    If there are enough people like all of the above in Australia, we’ll be fine. My view is that existing trends will all be speeded up. Some of these are good. Others not so good.

    We will rely on peeps who are energetic, creative, intelligent and agile to grow the national business. Let’s hope that the rent seekers and the time servers don’t squash them.

  7. No-one’s going to invade NZ after Jacinda’s response to the earthquake. It’s like Canada’s defence policy: ice hockey. Who’s going to invade a country as what does that for fun?

    (Sweden has a ring of IKEA stores. The enemy, unable to resist, streams in and never finds their way out again, or if they do they’re so overloaded with cushions for the Klippan and various kitchen storage things as to be rendered inoperable. )

    Think laterally.

  8. ‘WeWantPaul says:

    Not to mention China, although defending even 30 seconds of a Chinese attack would be impossible.’

    If nuclear, true.
    If conventional, untrue.
    China has a low level of ability to project military power because of a very limited military logistics capacity.
    They are working to fix that.

  10. poroti says:
    Thursday, May 28, 2020 at 8:43 pm
    Oakeshott Country

    The Kiwis quite rightly reckon that if ‘Country X’ attacked then they have zero chance of stopping them because all the rest of their allies would be forked by then.However, although NZ has assumed they could not resist an invasion they do plan a guerrilla response to such an invasion. You must admit they have a most excellent terrain for doing so.

    Just invite the invaders to the gazillion or so tea rooms and stuff them with so much cake and cream that they become fat and lazy and lose the will to conquer?

  13. BW

    My gen is along for the ride: observers, perhaps catchers in the Rye where we can.

    The next gen are the interesting ones.

    Observing the pattern of next gen responses has been quite heartening for me.
    The first is that the early impulse was generally concern and active behaviours to look out for their elders.
    The second was the care for partners and children.
    The third was concern and fairness for their colleagues and workers. Examples include feeding hundreds out of their own pockets to save people from hunger.
    The fourth was to get agile. I know of the following examples: One person is building a brand new international business that already employs 12 people. The target is to $2USmillion per annum profit by this time next year. The idea was burbling away in the background pre Virus. What to do with a good idea and some idle time locked up at home?
    Whammo!
    Another increased his wage by 25%. Another simply cut the business overheads to as close to zero as possible. Everyone took a 20% pay cut. Lots of thinking going into building the business in new directions. Another switched jobs and got a pay increase. In each case, where it applied, the trad office rents and the travel budgets were killed stone dead.
    At a personal level nearly all of them have cut their discretionary spend by more than half.
    The farmers I know have their ears pinned back after the Drought. They will produce scads of produce.

    If there are enough people like all of the above in Australia, we’ll be fine. My view is that existing trends will all be speeded up. Some of these are good. Others not so good.

    We will rely on peeps who are energetic, creative, intelligent and agile to grow the national business. Let’s hope that the rent seekers and the time servers don’t squash them.

    Agree. I have been very impressed at the strong care-for-community response in younger generations.

    Rebelling these days is rebelling against Thatcher, Reagan and Friedmanite economics. I have hope.

    As Milton Friedman said, in the early 1970s, “It takes a crisis to bring change, and the change that happens is driven by the ideas lying around.”

    Hayek, and his acolyte Friedman, of the Chicago Boys (you had to live in Chile for some time to appreciate exactly how evil the Chicago boys were), made sure that the “ideas lying around” were neo-classical economics (termed neo-liberal by some people).

    I have more than a faint hope that there are better ideas lying around now. What do I mean by better? Keynesian, reducing inequality – which has been shown to increase productivity (for those who measure things in this way).

    The ideas come from Paul Krugman, Joseph Stiglitz and Thomas Picketty, among others.

    If we adopt these ideas society will not be perfect, but it will be a big step forward from where we are now.

  15. I started my full time work life at the Fremantle CES. Quite a few funsters there including my boss ‘Jock’ who would cash his pay cheque at the East Fremantle Golf Club bar and get completely maggoted. Actually he was a bit of an arsehole who told me to iron my shirts better.

    The service provided to jobseekers wasn’t very intensive, 15 minute interview and a referral or two if you were lucky.

    However, jobseekers/unemployed weren’t treated as meanly in those days.

  16. Liberals pride themselves on being good with money. Like this guy, who was mind-bogglingly good with it. Until he got caught:

    A former Liberal Party staffer who allegedly stole $13.5 million from the life savings of more than 80 people has been handed an additional 51 charges.

    …Mr Jones allegedly unlocked accounts within the biggest banks, superannuation funds, telcos and cryptocurrency exchanges.

    Police say he used the stolen and forged personal details to modify the payroll data, superannuation details and credit card records of victims across Australia.

    With such details he allegedly redirected invoices or payroll payments to his own accounts. In other cases he allegedly consolidated legitimate super funds into new funds he had created, purporting to be those of the victim.

    …During a search warrant at his Erskineville home earlier this year, police allegedly discovered more than 100 digital document folders, all of which bore the names of individuals and businesses.

    They contained documents, such as passports, tax returns, addresses, Medicare claims, pay slips and high-value super funds.

    …Police are examining how Mr Jones allegedly obtained the stolen details, which are commonly traded on the dark web.

    Mr Jones is a former South Australian state Liberal Party media and policy adviser. Police allege he was “self-taught” in his understanding of cybertechnology.

    …Earlier this year The Sydney Morning Herald revealed some of the methods allegedly used by Mr Jones, such as Photoshopping photographs and forging signatures of justices of the peace.

    https://www.smh.com.au/national/nsw/ex-liberal-party-staffer-faces-51-new-charges-over-alleged-13-5m-identity-theft-20200528-p54x6t.html

    He certainly had a go. 😐

  18. Historyintime says:
    Thursday, May 28, 2020 at 9:11 pm

    I started my full time work life at the Fremantle CES. Quite a few funsters there including my boss ‘Jock’ who would cash his pay cheque at the East Fremantle Golf Club bar and get completely maggoted. Actually he was a bit of an arsehole who told me to iron my shirts better.

    The service provided to jobseekers wasn’t very intensive, 15 minute interview and a referral or two if you were lucky.

    However, jobseekers/unemployed weren’t treated as meanly in those days.
    ____________
    When I was 18 or so and had the good fortune to be on the dole while being up to no good I was assigned a case manager at the local CES. In the first meeting I feigned being a mute and was left alone.

  19. I see Israel has picked up on my post last night and approached Australia and NewZealand with plans to extend the covid safe bubble to it (as a hub) and then to other European countries like Greece, Cyprus, Denmark, Norway, Czech Rep, Croatia.

    They plan direct flights to Sydney or Melbourne. Clearly they need to consider the vibrant city of Adelaide as a better entry point. Adelaide has Sooooo much to offer like…. um……

    ….An airport 10min from the CBD!

  20. ———
    In the first meeting I feigned being a mute and was left alone.
    ———
    Until last year when William Bowe gave you a job as blog roustabout on his website?

  21. Worldometer has Vietnam as having completed 275,000 tests.

    The figure has been the same for at least a week.

    Let’s see if it changes in the next 7 days.

  22. BW

    “The next gen are the interesting ones.”

    Is this the same generation of “kiddies”, as you characterise them, you claim the Greens are “astroturfing?
    ——————-

    Coronavirus will define the next generation: What experts are predicting about ‘Generation C’

    https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2020/05/01/gen-c-coronavirus-covid-19-may-define-next-generation/3046809001/

    “While experts aren’t yet sold on the “Generation C” label some people are using to define babies born amid the coronavirus, they believe the pandemic may define the next generation.

    The global health crisis could go down in history like a war of sorts – a major factor called a period event that demographers use to help define generations, according to Pew Research Center. For Gen Z, (usually defined as those born between 1997 and 2012) the”coronavirus is the generation-defining moment,” according to Jason Dorsey, president of the Center for Generational Kinetics, a research and strategy firm focused on Gen Z and millennials.
    :::::
    Igielnik, who studies social and demographic trends, noted that researchers just agreed on the label for Gen Z about two years ago, and given that the members of the next generation is just 5 or 6 years old it’s too early to speculate what might define them.

    Wood said it often takes years for researchers to be able to observe shifts in attitudes and values and then retrospectively determine what historical events might have caused them.”

  23. Simon Katich says:
    Thursday, May 28, 2020 at 9:42 pm

    ———
    In the first meeting I feigned being a mute and was left alone.
    ———
    Until last year when William Bowe gave you a job as blog roustabout on his website?
    ______________________
    The details of any relationship between William and myself are commercial-in-confidence.

  24. ———
    The details of any relationship between William and myself are commercial-in-confidence
    ———
    Pru? Is that you?

  26. Claims of Andrews ‘arrogance’ on delicate China ties just might stick

    https://www.theage.com.au/politics/victoria/claims-of-andrews-arrogance-on-delicate-china-ties-just-might-stick-20200527-p54x0l.html

    “Daniel Andrews and Tim Pallas reckon they could do a better job managing a relationship with China than the Commonwealth with all its foreign affairs, international trade and security expertise. That’s clear from their language.

    Andrews’ dogged attachment to his Belt and Road deal flies in the face of federal government policy and national security advice and as revealed in The Age on Wednesday, the Andrews government did not consult with DFAT before signing up to the latest deal.
    :::
    But the Treasurer’s accusation, backed up later by Andrews, that China had been “vilified” in the debate over the COVID-19 inquiry brought national attention onto the state’s Belt and Road deal. And a lot of people – from both sides of politics – didn’t like what they saw. Especially against the background of tensions heightened by the pandemic.

    The arrangement is definitely unusual, with Victoria thought by China watchers to be the only non-national government, the only state or province, among 138 jurisdictions around the globe who have got involved in Belt and Road.”

  28. Rupert was not only ‘boning’ his newspaper empire today. He has put out State breakdowns voting intentions, from the recent YouGov series…

  31. Cud chewed, earlier:

    “Turns out that aerosols can also transmit Covid19.”
    https://www.n-tv.de/wissen/Ubertragung-durch-Aerosole-rueckt-in-Fokus-article21803000.html

    I’ve been saying this ever since the publication of a paper on that restaurant. Its worth also reposting this link which includes reference to that paper.

    Saying shit like that used to get you in trouble around here back in the day. All kinds of nasty labels were attached to you for pointing out the bleedin’ obvious.

  42. ———
    The 11 points for PHoN in Qld is what is giving the Coalition 50-50
    ———
    The 28 to ALP in QLD doesn’t help.

  43. Bushfire Bill:

    You really are a nasty piece of work, evidenced inter alia by your stalking of “Player One”. I’m sure, though, “HI” loves you?

  45. —— After the bushfires how is the Coalition vote staying so strong in NSW?
    ——
    Short memories of Fed Coalition f ups and long memories or state ALP ones?

    Or simply the Murdoch effect. News corps penetration and rabid partisan bias in QLD and NSW.

  47. D&M “As Milton Friedman said, in the early 1970s, “It takes a crisis to bring change, and the change that happens is driven by the ideas lying around.”

    c.f. Naomi Klein, The Shock Doctrine. A real eye opener.

  48. WeWantPaul says:
    Thursday, May 28, 2020 at 8:49 pm

    None of those countries have the military capability to project force in order to invade Australia.

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