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. I understand that Scotty from Marketing uttered some turgid tropes today.

    The Snap Back Twang Talk!

    Did he patronize anyyone?

  3. Bushfire Bill @ #387 Tuesday, May 26th, 2020 – 1:41 pm

    It’s more likely to be that her case is missing that “certain something” which Centrelink needs to know, but which P1 has forgotten, otherwise omitted, or cannot bring herself to tell them.

    Not the case, as I have explained.

    You are just an opinionated, arrogant, know-it-all smart-arse who can’t ever admit they could possibly ever be wrong.

    As usual.

  6. And so it goes…

    Andrew Liveris appointed co-chair of NT’s post-coronavirus taskforce Economic Reconstruction Commission

    https://www.abc.net.au/news/2020-05-26/nt-andrew-liveris-appointed-economic-reconstruction-commission/12286374

    Darwin-born businessman Andrew Liveris, previously hand-picked by US President Donald Trump to head the American Manufacturing Council, will co-chair the NT’s new Economic Reconstruction Commission.

    The 66-year-old oil and gas executive provided advice on manufacturing to Mr Trump and his predecessor, Barack Obama.

    Mr Liveris is the deputy chairman of Worley, an engineering consultancy for the oil and gas industry, and has previously advocated for Dow Chemical to establish a plant in Darwin.

    He is also currently a special adviser to the National COVID-19 Coordination Commission.

    Mr Liveris and former NT chief minister Paul Henderson will head the eight-person Economic Reconstruction Commission, which aims to attract investment to the Territory and create local jobs post-pandemic.
    :::
    Co-chair Mr Hendersen sealed the deal on Darwin’s $34 billion Inpex gas project during his term as chief minister.
    :::
    In an interim report, leaked last week, prepared for the National COVID-19 Coordination Commission, a taskforce chaired by Mr Liveris advocated for relaxation of fracking regulations to allow for more rapid gas extraction in the Beetaloo Basin south of Darwin, and a manufacturing hub for the city.

  7. Greensborough Growler @ #405 Tuesday, May 26th, 2020 – 1:50 pm

    P1,

    I’m not sure that Centrelink is licensed to provide unsolicited Financial Advice.

    Here’s a copy of a letter sent by ASIC to Real Estate Agents who were offering similar unsolicited advice.

    https://download.asic.gov.au/media/5546344/asic-letter-response-to-early-release-of-super-state-rei-3-april-2020.pdf

    No, I reckon they are not. I’ll point that out to them next time I see them 🙁

  8. You are just an opinionated, arrogant, know-it-all smart-arse who can’t ever admit they could possibly ever be wrong.

    F me if it aint hard sometimes to know which one of you is writing which post.

  11. If Centrelink aren’t paying benefits you have to play their game. Moaning about them “trying to break you” gets you absolutely nowhere. But you first have to ask the right question.

    Defending the body that is sending out unlawful and fraudulent debt notices is next level for you BB.

    Some of the best humor you’ve done, and I’ve always said it was the humor that is your strong suit.

  13. “The attorney general Christian Porter has left the door open to the Commonwealth intervening to support Clive Palmer’s bid to have the WA border ban ruled unconstitutional.

    Porter told Guardian Australia:

    I will consider the strength of Mr Palmers matter and the Commonwealths position on it when more details about its circumstances are provided through the normal processes.”

  14. The G

    “The union busting ‘ensuring integrity’ is dead – for now. Which we expected and knew, but now is set in stone

    Christian Porter will lead the ‘Accords 2.0’ bringing together unions, employers and business groups, to discuss what changes could be made to IR laws. Some have already made a point of saying Labor isn’t invited to this round table, but that ignores that the union movement is part of the Labor movement, and often carries out its grassroot policy drives”

  16. P1,

    If you have that in writing then I’d forward the correspondence to your local Federal MP together with that letter from ASIC and ask them to inquire if your local Centrelink was acting lawfully. Clearly, you’re not getting anywhere with Centrelink.

    The Press might run with it also.

  17. Pegasus @ #413 Tuesday, May 26th, 2020 – 12:02 pm

    “The attorney general Christian Porter has left the door open to the Commonwealth intervening to support Clive Palmer’s bid to have the WA border ban ruled unconstitutional.

    Porter told Guardian Australia:

    I will consider the strength of Mr Palmers matter and the Commonwealths position on it when more details about its circumstances are provided through the normal processes.”

    Which would probably mean the Commonwealth would cover the legal costs.

  18. BREAKING: Josh Frydenberg says new JobMaker scheme will create 60 billion extra jobs – in marginal coalition seats

    #whiteboard2020

  21. Greensborough Growler @ #416 Tuesday, May 26th, 2020 – 2:05 pm

    P1,

    If you have that in writing then I’d forward the correspondence to your local Federal MP together with that letter from ASIC and ask them to inquire if your local Centrelink was acting lawfully. Clearly, you’re not getting anywhere with Centrelink.

    The Press might run with it also.

    No, it was verbal advice. And, to be honest, we could see that they were a bit embarrassed by having to turn us down, and were genuinely trying to help.

  23. Guytaur:

    You really are thick. Its you shaming someone for being unemployed. Argue the case without using employment status or lack of it as a problem in and of itself.

    If you can tell me how to discuss an unsuccessful application for the dole without implying that the person making the application is out of work, then please do so.

    Otherwise, you’re up to your old tricks again. Accusing others of moral failures that you, of course, would never do, and which only you, of course, are able to diagnose.

    Many of us here have been through hell with Centrelink. The bushfires burn down part of your village, the the virus comes to take what’s left. That’s not a matter of shaming someone. One or both have happened to tens of thousands, if not millions of citizens.

    P1’s problem is that she can’t see anything but bile and hatred in anything I’ve tried to help her with. I think it’s because she’s a pretty nasty piece of work herself, who likes dishing it out but can’t can’t take it coming back the other way.

    You’re a bit the same too, Guytaur. You think that accusing someone of some vile thing is the easiest way to win an argument. If they defend themselves you can condescendingly pat them on them on the head and tell them to stop digging. If they ignore you, you run around bragging that because they didn’t defend themselves, then the accusation must be correct.

    What’s never countenanced is that you’re a judgemental twat who goes around labelling others because it makes you feel better about your own miserable life. It’s a rare day you don’t tell someone how awful they are, or what wrong thing they’re doing, at least in your mind.

    It turns out P1’s problem boils down to there being too much superannuation involved to make her application successful. In other words, her family has assets (and with P1’s JobKeeper payments, income) they can use, before public money is advanced to them. JobKeeper is NOT the dole. It is a wage supplemented by the government.

    What you have in super is regarded as an asset, up to a point. It affects benefits payable unless you spend it (or sufficient of it) first. P1 doesn’t want to do that. Fair enough. That’s her choice. But the dole isn’t there to top-up assets you could otherwise use.

    She was wise to insure her house, but when she got the insurance payout, asking for more from Centrelink might have looked like double-dipping. It’s all there in the fine detail somewhere.

    P1 had a job, presumably, because she is being paid under the JobKeeper plan. Her partner had some kind of job, but doesn’t qualify for the dole, even though he presumably lost it. P1’s income from JobKeeper, as his partner, could be affecting that, as well as the super problem.

    See? Centrelink was not trying to break her after all. She just doesn’t want to deplete her or her partner’s assets. That’s her business.

    Spare a thought for the poor sods who lost everything – house, property, car, livelihood, the lot – in those fires, and THEN lost the make work jobs they had to take up to make ends meet. You can bet your bottom dollar THEY are not on this blog moralising and moaning. They don’t have the time.

  25. P1,

    Was the conversation taped?

    Seems to me you’re not getting anywhere. So, you either escalate or give up.

  26. Is JobKeeper over already?

    Did it have enough time to keep any jobs?

    Now its JobMaker’s turn!

    What’s happened to poor little JobSeeker and JobSon, remember them?

    Then of course there’s the most successful Job of all Jobs4Libs. That’s always a good little programme.

  28. BB

    You said dole application.

    First point. Don’t use dole. Thats a word the LNP use to for lazy dole bludger bastard. Its why I said its a common failing. I used to use dole until the associated shaming was pointed out to me

    Next time instead of attacking me and defending your argument ask why I said it was a shaming exercise instead of rushing to judgement about someone else.

    Edit: I used to say Newstart and now Jobseeker and Jobkeeper instead.

  29. The turnip Marles now throwing his Victorian comrades under the bus re China.

    We now have the CIA, Newscorp, Duttons Homeland Security, Deputy Labor lead Marles, all now working as a cartel to overthrow the Andrews Govt.

  32. Isn’t it wonderful how Marles has diverted media attention away from Scotty’s speech and towards the evil Chairman Dan.

  34. Liebor’s Marles is one of these pollyTICs that needs a flag on his lapel to remind him which country he’s meant to be advancing …

  36. P1 wrote:

    We have been surviving on our insurance payout from the Bushfires.

    Boom! Boom!

    Gradually P1 ekes out the information as to why their application(s) were rejected:

    1. They already had an insurance payout, enough to live off. That is classed as an asset.

    2. Hubby has super he could spend, but doesn’t want to. None of us do. Hard cheese there.

    3. P1 has an income: JobKeeper. This, added to the insurance payout, allows the family to get by.

    4. Anything else yet to be eked.

    GG, don’t worry about that letter. P1’s not sending it to anyone, unless she’s stupid. No-one at Centrelink would put that sentiment in writing. The best you could hope for would be official advice that the super amount was over the threshold that precluded payment of JobSeeker.

    And WWP, I’m not defending Centrelink’s Robo Debt practices. It’s unfair of you to to accuse me of that. But when all is said and done, we DO need to get along with them in other matters, or suffer the consequences. They have rules. If you don’t like them, you can:

    1. Go away (they won’t care),

    2. Appeal (they STILL won’t care),

    3. Commence a Class Action (that might get their attention).

  37. Guytaur:

    BB

    You said dole application.

    First point. Don’t use dole. Thats a word the LNP use to for lazy dole bludger bastard. Its why I said its a common failing. I used to use dole until the associated shaming was pointed out to me.

    I actually find the euphemisms “Newstart” and “JobSeeker” FAR more offensive.

    The dole’s the dole. Changing its name ain’t gunna help P1 in her application.

  39. BB,

    Seems idiot Guytaur has become the self appointed word monitor of PB.

    I know you fought Centrelink and won. But, you need some better ammunition to overcome our tosser of Tiberius tantrums.

    So I offer the following.

    https://www.thesaurus.com/browse/dole

    Personally, I’d throw in “susso”as well.

  40. Is JobKeeper over already?

    Mission Accomplished. See Morrisons polling numbers.

    Did it have enough time to keep any jobs?

    Not relevant. Besides, the more peeps out of work the more it is an employers market. Be thankful you have a low paid job. Dont rock the boat. Dont ask for sickleave. Dont ask for a payrise. Dont dob in a crooked boss. Dont join a union….

    Now its JobMaker’s turn!

    Proof that two word slogans are better than three. He has a bag full of them.

    Then of course there’s the most successful Job of all Jobs4Libs. That’s always a good little programme.

    That one is different. You can go into debt for that – no questions asked.

  41. But seriously, there is a goldmine here for the ALP. Howards tradies have coped OK. But if the economy tanks for a little longer they will be out of work and no jobkeeper left for them. They will be grope-able.

  42. BB

    The association is there. Shaming people on unemployment benefits helps no one. Its LNP DNA.
    Part of the whole put people down for things that are no fault of their own.

    I get you disagree and thats fine. As you can see I was not attacking you personally but the term itself.
    There is a lot of shaming on this blog about people spending time here and lack of employment is used for that.

    With Morrison’s speech happening you reminded me of that using the term and I decided to mention it.

    Edit: Again. I am not getting into the merits of P!’s position.

    Your whole stop being judgemental etc is your bug bear and not mine. It was not a personal attack or a judgement of you. This is why I made the point it was not a personal attack on you in my initial post.

  43. No one should be encouraging P1 to write a letter.
    The letter P1 wrote to Telstra ( proudly posted on PB ) about their loss of landline is a case study in how to really really piss off a Telstra employee .
    I’d be surprised if the landline will ever be restored.

  44. @P1:

    “ Yes, we finally got the letter from Centrelink. In short, it turns out the reason my partner’s JobSeeker application was turned down was because I am on JobKeeper. In our particular circumstance, we cannot have both. So there is no point in appealing the decision with Centrelink, because it is not Centrelink who is at fault – it is the ATO. And yes, we did discuss it with Centrelink, who agreed it seems unfair, but said there is nothing they can do. It is a known – and very possibly deliberate – problem with the JobKeeper program – one that is ruling out some people in similar circumstances to my partner’s from getting either benefit.

    We have raised the issue with our local MP, who are getting many similar complaints, but there is little that can be done unless the government changes the JobKeeper eligibility criteria.”

    __________

    I feel for you. Of course Joshie and SfM were being parsimonious By instinct. However, whether they specifically intended that anomaly or were just being incompetent is unknown. I tend towards the ‘fuck up’ rather than being intentionally bastards theory though.

    These sort of anomalies were why I advocated back in February for the implementation of a temporary UBI for every worker who had a taxable income of less than $100K last year to be paid without application (only needing to provide up to date banking details via my gov) OR upon application if you could show hardship. Additional hardship payments could be have been made to small businesses, partnerships and sole traders.

    The rate of the UBI should have been in the $500-$600 per week range, with an employer being able to deduct that amount from wages (or a pro rata amount for those part timers earning less than the UBI) if they keep the employee on the books, with an additional amount (say between $150 and $250 pre week) if the employer provided an amount of work that was worth over and above the amount of the UBI.

    Under my system P1, you and your partner would have gotten $1000 per week automatically, with scope for additional hardship payments being made upon application.

    Keep it simple.

  45. JohnNobel

    “Liebor’s Marles is one of these pollyTICs that needs a flag on his lapel to remind him which country he’s meant to be advancing …”

    Didn’t help #ScottyFromMarketing. He scarpered off to Hawaii during the bushfires. Or was the little flag on his lapel actually the flag of Hawaii (it also has the Union Jack in the corner)?

  46. In this Greg Jericho article there is a chart of “Value of private domestic sector and exports”. A stand out feature is the sustained sharpish fall of the private domestic sector since June 2012. Any suggestions as to what policies ‘whacked’ it at that point ?
    ……………………………………………………………………………………..
    Australia’s buoyant exports are good news for GDP – but less so for households
    https://www.theguardian.com/business/grogonomics/2020/may/26/australias-buoyant-exports-are-good-news-for-gdp-but-less-so-for-households

  48. I detect some bad mouthing of Comrade Marles by the usual suspect. I think we deserve the facts:

    Marles said

    “The government talks about the importance of resilient manufacturing, and yet this is the government which goaded the car industry offshore and which has presided over a massive reduction in manufacturing.

    The government talked about the importance of getting energy policy right, and yet this is a government which is on its 19th energy policy.

    The prime minister spoke about the importance of universities, but it’s his government which has been strangling university funding.

    The prime minister talked about the importance of science and research, but it’s his government which has cut money to CSIRO hand over fist and, at times, has been absolutely anti-science.

    And this government is now talking about seeing a salvation in skills and training. Skills and training are really important, but it is Scott Morrison’s government which has cut $3bn from skills and training since it came to office, such that we have 140,000 fewer apprenticeships and traineeships.

    If it wants to see the future built through skills and training, we’re unlikely to see it from a government which has allowed the VET sector to bleed out.

  49. And Marles followed with:

    “And the government is talking about the importance of industrial relations. We welcome the shelving of the Ensuring Integrity Bill.

    Sure, it’s a good thing to get people round the table. But I can tell you there’s a lot more to industrial relations than simply booking the room.

    And the idea that a Liberal government is about to engage in industrial relations reform will send a chill down the spine of every Australian worker. We do need to be bringing Australians together at this moment, but this is a government, and a prime minister, that has been more responsible for pulling Australians apart than any other.

    Today’s speech was such a lost opportunity. You know, we heard lots of slogans and lots of marketing.

    JobSeeker,JobKeeper, JobMaker – really hope that it doesn’t end up being aJobBlunder.

    But at the end of the day, this is the most significant moment of reconstructing, of reimagining the Australian economy, that we have seen since the end of the Second World War. And all we got today was tired old leftovers from this Prime Minister and this government.

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