Essential Research: protests, union power and coronavirus policies

Support for anti-racism protests, though perhaps not right now; a mixed bag of outlooks on the trade union movement; and concern that coronavirus support is being withdrawn too early.

As reported by The Guardian, this week’s Essential Research survey focuses on black lives matter protests, union power and the government’s coronavirus policies, producing a mixed bag of results on each:

• Sixty-two per cent felt protesters were “justified in their demands for authorities to address the issue of Indigenous deaths in custody”, but 61% felt “the situation in America is very different to Australia and has no relevance”, and 84% felt protests amid the pandemic put the community at risk.

• Sixty per cent rated unions as very important or quite important for working people, and 74% felt they provided essential services, but 62% thought them too politically biased and 58% agreed that “union protection makes it difficult for employers to discipline, terminate or even promote employees”.

• Sixty-four per cent expressed concern about how the withdrawal of Jobkeeper subsidies “would sit with any second wave of the pandemic”, 53% considered the government had broken a promise by withdrawing payments for childcare workers, 55% thought it too soon to remove support and 43% supported extending free childcare (up seven points on a month ago), but 57% thought the government needed to withdraw help from “some industries”.

The poll was conducted Thursday to Sunday from a sample of 1087; a full report will be published later today.

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.

1,991 comments on “Essential Research: protests, union power and coronavirus policies”

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  2. STEM – I’m one, my wife is one. I wouldn’t particularly recommend my kids go into it.

    Countries that have made the most of large numbers of STEM grads haven’t done so because they produce lots of graduates. That’s part of the equation, but a fairly minor one. Much more important is ensuring that there are careers for them to go into.

    The idea that we need more graduates in STEM fields, without actual work for them, is nuts.

    From when I taught at uni, if the jobs are there, then the student numbers will follow.

  7. The Monash Uni Vice Chancellor says . .

    Margaret Gardner@GardmarM 8h
    While some students will face increases and others decreases, overall the Govt reduces its contribution to degrees from 58% to 48% and student contributions will go from 42% to 52%. This is how more student places are funded without increasing govt funding @uniaus @GroupofEight

  8. sorry spray, I’m feeling a certain amount of ennui at the moment. Perhaps I have been too influenced by repetitives like BW and Briefly. Hopefully I will soon regain my joie de vivre and deliver some top notch material to all my homies.

  12. Cripes. Panic stations.

    Channel 10 News. All of our institutions are under serious and increasing cyber attack. No names mentioned – London to brick it’s China – linked to the trade war and that and everything.

    The report was essentially incoherent.

    Be alarmed. Hide under your duna.

    Goodnight all. 💤💤

  13. nath @ #1858 Friday, June 19th, 2020 – 5:14 pm

    sorry spray, I’m feeling a certain amount of ennui at the moment. Perhaps I have been too influenced by repetitives like BW and Briefly. Hopefully I will soon regain my joie de vivre and deliver some top notch material to all my homies.

    You flatter yourself by speaking of a plurality, nath. 🙂

  14. Pegasus @ #1829 Friday, June 19th, 2020 – 4:35 pm

    What Bucephalus is referring to:

    NSW Labor MP Julia Finn steps down amid branch stacking claims

    https://www.abc.net.au/news/2020-06-19/nsw-labor-mp-julia-finn-steps-down/12374156

    The Member for Granville stepped down from her shadow portfolio this afternoon.

    Ms Finn was named in an internal investigation into branch stacking issues.
    :::
    But Ms McKay said there were no recommendations made against her senior MP in the report.

    The report, which was handed to party bosses in March, found branch attendance records were falsified, false addresses were used on memberships and that there was evidence party officials paid for memberships for other people.

    Ms McKay yesterday said she had spoken to Ms Finn and was “satisfied” with her explanation and would not be sacking her from shadow cabinet.

    Ms McKay is yet to comment on Ms Finn’s resignation.

    Is it unreasonable to think branch stacking in NSW is being covered up ..?

  15. KayJay @ #1855 Friday, June 19th, 2020 – 5:17 pm

    Cripes. Panic stations.

    Channel 10 News. All of our institutions are under serious and increasing cyber attack. No names mentioned – London to brick it’s China – linked to the trade war and that and everything.

    The report was essentially incoherent.

    Be alarmed. Hide under your duna.

    Goodnight all. 💤💤

    I smell a different foreign rat…

  16. C@t, I’ll have you know I have a good fan base here on PB. So much so that WB is wary of attracting my wrath. I’ll have everyone know that after he called me a douchebag I won’t be doing any further research projects with him, that’s for sure. He just lost any possibility of a DECRA. So there.

  17. Sharkie told Guardian Australia she believes it is “grossly unfair” to late high school students who formed preferences before the 2021 fee changes.

    Other commentators have pointed this out, too. Students start streaming for their career choice quite early.

  18. So what process will the ALP National Executive use to determine preselections in Victoria for upcoming elections ..?

  19. Blob it: ‘From when I taught at uni, if the jobs are there, then the student numbers will follow.’

    Even when the jobs aren’t there, they follow. Just the promise of maybe eventually getting a ‘nice’ job is enough incentive.

    Meanwhile, Australia relies on close to a million people from overseas to do the low paid/status jobs, while 700,000 Australians are unemployed with many more underemployed or withdrawn from the labour market.

  20. Nath,

    Keep going. By the fourth time, the joke was actually funny.

    OTOH, having now read the Byrne texts, I am feeling a bit sorry for Somyurek. Byrne is a stone cold asshole and a vicious individual. He goes well beyond factional invective – which is usually just ‘I hate X, he/she is a complete fucking moron’ – to a much darker place.

  21. Please, can anyone help me, I’m thinking of joining a Victorian ALP branch, but I need to know what the new National Exec preselection process will be …? …anyone …??

  22. Historyintime @ #1863 Friday, June 19th, 2020 – 5:36 pm

    Nath,

    Keep going. By the fourth time, the joke was funny.

    OTOH, having now read the Byrne texts, I am feeling a bit sorry for Somyurek. Byrne is a stone cold asshole and a vicious individual. He goes well beyond factional invective – which is usually just ‘I hate X, he/she is a complete fucking moron’ – to a much darker place.

    Hastie and Dutton apparently think he’s tops though…

  24. nath @ #1866 Friday, June 19th, 2020 – 5:23 pm

    C@t, I’ll have you know I have a good fan base here on PB. So much so that WB is wary of attracting my wrath. I’ll have everyone know that after he called me a douchebag I won’t be doing any further research projects with him, that’s for sure. He just lost any possibility of a DECRA. So there.

    Your real name doesn’t start with Walter and end with Mitty, does it? 😀

  27. PB “Even when the jobs aren’t there, they follow. Just the promise of maybe eventually getting a ‘nice’ job is enough incentive.”

    To an extent. Our numbers in engineering definitely increased when the job market was busy and dropped alot when the cyclical redundencies hit.

    The big problem there was generally kids enroll the most at the peak of the employment cycle. By the time they graduate it’s usually at the bottom of the cycle.

    (Think I’m on my third engineering recession now)

  28. I’m starting to worry about Cud Chewer. He’s not here commenting and the numbers of COVID-19 cases in the US are trending upwards and there’s a new outbreak in China!

  30. “C@tmommasays:
    Friday, June 19, 2020 at 6:02 pm
    I’m starting to worry about Cud Chewer.”

    Hopefully he’s taking a sanity break. Long enough here will do anyone’s head in.

  33. Twitter’s feeling it’s oats:

    Twitter on Thursday evening took the rare step of appending a warning label to one of President Trump’s tweets after the company determined it violated its policies on manipulated media.

    The president tweeted a doctored version of a popular video that went viral in 2019, which showed two toddlers, one black and one white, hugging. In the version Trump shared, the video has been edited with ominous music and a fake CNN headline that says, “Terrified toddler runs from racist baby.”

    “Racist baby probably a Trump voter,” the headline then says in a subsequent screen.

    pic.twitter.com/vnRpk0zl5y

    — Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) June 19, 2020
    The video then cuts to the original clip of the children hugging, and then cuts to the message “America is not the problem. Fake news is.”

    https://www.washingtonpost.com/technology/2020/06/18/trump-tweet-label-video/

  34. “You’ll have to substitute as expert commentator then.”

    Feck no. I’ve only just been able to return here before it gives me the shuts again.

    (See what I did)

  35. Here’s a thought – economies with successful STEM(1) programs don’t just churn out graduates, but put in place a whole economic system to use those skills.

    The US and China being two great examples. Even if a substantial part of the US work-for-your-STEM-degree program is military based.

    (1) I hate the STEM moniker, though slightly less than STEAM


  36. a r says:
    Friday, June 19, 2020 at 5:43 pm

    Historyintime @ #1865 Friday, June 19th, 2020 – 5:36 pm

    He goes well beyond factional invective – which is usually just ‘I hate X, he/she is a complete fucking moron’ –

    Why is that an acceptable standard within a political party?

    I’m sorry but i have seen worse on pollbludger.

  37. Saw that GIF .
    I will never get rat-arsed again.
    If, next time I need to do what needs to be done and I think about it.
    It’s your fault. 🙂
    Contemplation is fine. Fear is not.

  41. “PB isn’t a political party…or is it?”

    Does it matter? It’s a text between people. If someone was using that language in a workplace, or in a text toward someone to abuse them, that’s a different thing.

    But a text between adults commenting on another person – shrug.

  42. Is it too early to pinpoint Somyurek and/or Byrne as the source of the fabricated quote regarding colostomy bags that was employed to smear Andrews in the lead-up to the last state election?

  44. lizzie @ #1867 Friday, June 19th, 2020 – 3:25 pm

    Sharkie told Guardian Australia she believes it is “grossly unfair” to late high school students who formed preferences before the 2021 fee changes.

    Other commentators have pointed this out, too. Students start streaming for their career choice quite early.

    Well, I was at Uni when it came in, so half was free, half was HECS.

  46. I agree that we need more Engineers than Lawyers. I hold teachers and nurses in higher regard than tax accountants. While a bit of a Maths and Science person myself, it is clear that lots of talented and creative people do not have the interest or aptitude to study these subjects.

    I agree with the principle of providing incentives for prospective students to choose Stem subjects and other areas of study where there is a shortage of qualified workers. The same goes for apprenticeships and vocational studies. However, penalising the humanities students, which is what the Government is planning to do, is grossly unfair. I can’t help that feel that this latter is a bit of social engineering.

  47. “Barney in Tanjung Bungasays:
    Friday, June 19, 2020 at 6:41 pm

    Well, I was at Uni when it came in, so half was free, half was HECS.”

    And that was pretty unfair as well.

    Here’s a thought – grads to pay 0.5% extra tax on brackets > the lowest. Say up to a threshold of 50k (indexed). That would be progressive, not favour particular fields but also not disadvantage those who don’t get a “graduate” job.

    It would have to be on income before deductions though.

    I thought btw, that conservatives didn’t like to pick winners…

  49. E. G. Theodore says:
    Friday, June 19, 2020 at 4:19 pm
    That said I know a number of wealthy parents who have been stupid enough to pay their kids HECS debts off. How clearly intelligent people can be so stupid is beyond me. They could have given me the money and it would have been a better use.
    This was a phenomenon when HECS came in (and when I was an undergraduate) – a few wealthy students had their HECS paid off up front (there was a discount) often by a “wealthy Uncle” who wanted to show off.

    It was quickly pointed out that (even with the discount) the option made no financial sense, and the students preening themselves as being debt-free exposed themselves as idiots as well as tossers.

    Perhaps I should explain my rationale for assisting our two daughters to pay their HECS upfront, even if it is not the most rational thing to do.

    I grew up in a “working poor” household where every penny/cent counted. My father would give us pocket money and my mother would reclaim some of it to buy essentials prior to payday. Going into debt was not something we did (to my knowledge) and we were too proud to even think of asking for any assistance. Hence my lifelong obsession with stubbornly “never accepting charity”.

    When our daughters were small and we were living on one income, money was very tight but we managed due to my wife’s amazing ability to make things like clothes and good meals out of cheaper ingredients. As time went on our financial position improved and today we are without financial stress.

    However I was determined to help our daughters avoid HECS debts and helped them pay upfront, with a 20% discount (I think) at the time. They both did well at Uni and have good jobs but still feel the financial pressures of everyday life.

    Perhaps avoiding HECS debts was not the most rational decision but I and they are happy to not have another financial burden to deal with.

  50. “Steve777says:
    Friday, June 19, 2020 at 6:44 pm
    I agree that we need more Engineers than Lawyers”

    Why? If we really did, us STEM people would be getting paid more and/or have better job security.

    Where are all these jobs that Australia needs these grads for. The focus on the supply side of STEM people is stupid. If the government focused on the demand side, supply would pretty quickly sort itself out.

    Time for another old fashioned for me.

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