This week’s Essential Report has the primaries running 50 (up 1) / 35 (down 1) to Labor, washing out into a two party preferred of 60/40 the same way – a 1 point increase to the ALP since last weeks Essential. The Greens are on 8 (steady) while the broad “Others” are on 8 (up 1). This comes from a two week rolling sample of 2117, giving us an MoE that maxes out around the 2.1% mark.

Essential asked additional questions this week on Kevin Rudd’s foreign affairs, perceptions on economic conditions and employment over the next 12 months as well as question on the how the company one might work for has performed over the last year. These additional questions come from a sample of 1018 for an MoE that maxes out around the 3.1% mark.

How would you rate the job Kevin Rudd did in his recent trip to the US and participation in the G20 summit on global economic questions and other related issues – excellent, good, not so good or poor?

g20On the cross-tabs, Essential tells us:

86% of Labor voters rate the job Kevin Rudd did in his recent trip to the US to participate at the G20 as excellent/good and only 6% of these same voters rate it as not so good/poor.

40% of Coalition voters rate Rudd’s performance as excellent/good and 51% of these same voters rate it as not so good/poor.

Green voters rated Rudd’s performance favourably – 73% thought his performance was excellent/good.

People aged 45 – 54 were more likely than those in other age groups to rate Rudd’s performance as excellent/good (67%).

When you think of Kevin Rudd representing Australia at international conferences, how confident are you that he will do a good job in representing Australia to the international community?

ruddinternationalThe cross-tabs tell us:

95% of Labor voters were very/somewhat confident in Rudd’s ability to do a good job in representing Australia to the international community.

50% of Coalition voters were very/somewhat confident in Rudd’s ability to do a good job, and 45% are not confident at all in his ability to do a good job at representing Australia to the international community.

There were no significant differences in terms of age and people’s perception of Rudd’s ability to represent Australia at international conferences.

After recently meeting the Prime Minister Kevin Rudd, former US President Bill Clinton said “In my opinion, he is one of the most well informed, well read, intelligent leaders in the world today.” Do you agree or disagree?

ruddegoThe short cross-tabs say:

90% of Labor voters and 82% of Green voters agree with Clinton’s statements about Rudd. 37% of Coalition voters agree with Clinton’s statements and 49% of these same voters disagree.

Over the next 12 months do you think economic conditions in Australia will get better, get worse or stay much the same?

ecoconditionsoct4

positivestrength negativestrength

The cross-tabs say:

80% of Labor voters and 60% of Coalition voters think that over the next 12 months, economic conditions in Australia will get a lot/a little better.

Younger people were more likely than those in other age groups to be optimistic about Australia’s economic situation – 71% of 18 – 24 year olds and 70% of 25 – 34 year olds think that economic conditions in Australia will get a lot/a little better over the next 12 months.

How concerned are you that you or some member of your immediate family will lose their job in the next year or so: very concerned, somewhat concerned, or not at all concerned?

unempconcern

Essential tells us that:

People in part-time work were more likely than those in full-time work to be very/somewhat concerned when it comes to job security (56% v 49%).

Females were more likely than males to be very/somewhat concerned about job security (55% v 44%).

People earning $600 – $1000 per week were more likely to be very/somewhat concerned that they or a member of their immediate family will lose their job in the next year or so (54%), while people earning $1600+ per week were more likely to be not at all concerned (45%).

If you work in the private sector, is the business or company you work in doing better or worse than it was 12 months ago?

workplaceperceptionThe short cross-tabs say:

Self employed people working full-time were more likely than those working full-time but employed by someone else to think the company or business they work for is doing much/a little better than it was 12 months ago (39% v 29%).