More post election wash up.

Bryan · Friday 12 November 2004 · 5:45 am

There are some interesting survey results on the Newspoll site. The Newspoll survey was conducted following the 2004 election by telephone with 1099 respondents.

When did you yourself finally decide to vote for the … (party)?

  1996 election 1998 election 2001 election 2004 election
Only on election day 12 14 10 12
1 to 3 days before the election 6 7 8 8
4 to 7 days before the election 9 9 8 8
In the month prior to the election 16 20 20 19
In the 6 months prior to the election 9 13 11 12
More than 6 months prior to the election 48 36 42 39

Would you say each of the following issues was very important, fairly important or not important to you in deciding who you voted for in the federal election held last Saturday?

Issues rated very important Coalition supporters Labor supporters
Health and Medicare 64 76
Education 58 71
The economy 77 43
Leadership 63 49
National security 61 40
The environment 38 48
Interest rates 49 30

You mentioned that in the federal election held last Saturday, you voted for … (party). Which one of the following was a stronger influence on the way you voted?

  1993 election 1996 election 1998 election 2001 election 2004 election
Your liking of the party you voted for 38 44 47 55 49
Your disliking of the other parties 52 50 45 37 42
Uncommitted 10 6 8 8 9
  2004 Coalition supporters 2004 Labor supporters
Your liking of the party you voted for 59 41
Your disliking of the other parties 30 50
Uncommitted 11 9

Can we generalise and say the Liberal supporters voted out of love and Labor supporters voted out of loathing?

Roy Morgan has detected the usual post-election honeymoon for the winner.

A month into the L-NP Government’s fourth term, Prime Minister John Howard’s approval and image ratings have soared. Now, 62% (up 8% since October 7/8) of electors believe Mr Howard would make a better Prime Minister than Opposition Leader Mark Latham (29%, down 8%), a special telephone Morgan Poll finds.

Approval of the way Mr Howard is handling his job as Prime Minister has risen to 59% (up 6%), while 34% disapprove (down 6%, 7% can’t say). Electors are largely divided on Mr Latham’s performance, with 47% (down 11%) approving of the way is handling his job as Opposition Leader, and 43% of electors disapproving (up 13%, 10% can’t say). This is Mr Latham’s lowest recorded approval rating as Opposition Leader. His highest approval rating was 64% in mid-September.

Nearly all L-NP supporters (96%) believed Mr Howard would make a better Prime Minister (Latham 2%), while less than two-thirds of ALP supporters said Mr Latham would make the better Prime Minister (Latham 62% cf Howard 28%).

Mr Howard’s approval rating is now only 6% below the high of 65% in mid-April 2003. In April 2003, only 28% of electors disapproved of Mr Howard’s job performance, compared to 34% saying they disapproved in the latest telephone poll.

These are the findings of a special telephone Morgan Poll conducted November 3/4, 2004, with an Australia-wide cross section of 517 electors.

Election 2004 ·