Ratings and confidence in Prime Minister Scott Morrison’s government have continued to plummet and we absolutely love to see it.
The Australian National University’s latest pandemic wellbeing survey found only one third of Australians (34.5 per cent) had confidence in the Federal Government, dropping from 60 per cent in May 2020.
It’s the lowest the Coaltion has placed in the survey since the 2019-20 bushfires, when a record low of 27.3 per cent reported they had confidence or were very confident in the government.
The survey of 3,472 Australians was conducted in the final two weeks of January as the country recorded its deadliest days of the pandemic.
Almost 23 per cent of respondents reported they could not get tested for COVID-19 when they needed to. Of those, 75.6 per cent said being “unable to find a rapid antigen test in my local area” was the reason.
As infection rates rose over the summer holidays it seems a lot of people stopped assuming they were safe from COVID-19.
The previous survey in October 2021 found 40 per cent of Australians expected to get the virus. It increased to 80 per cent in January.
We’ve also become so jaded by the pandemic and have apparently stopped resisting. The final stage of grief is indeed acceptance.
In January, just 40 per cent of Australians thought “the worst of the pandemic is behind us”. Back in October we were still hopeful this thing was temporary and when lockdowns lifted 55 per cent of us thought this was all over.
Confidence in the public service and in state and territory governments also declined slightly since October, but both still rated far higher than the Federal Government at 57.6 per cent and 52.3 per cent respectively.
The first Newspoll of the election year released on Jan 31 also saw Morrison and the Coaltion’s approvals drop.
In the two-party preferred poll Labor took a whopping 56 to 44 per cent lead, jumping three points since the last Newspoll on November 14.
The second Newspoll of the year was released last night and showed in the primary vote and preferred PM categories, no numbers had changed just yet. Unfortunately the Coalition clawed back one point in the two-party preferred poll, to a 55-45 split. Newscorp counted this as a huge win despite all the shit that has gone down so far in February.
We compiled a low-lights list in January, speculating why oh why the government could possibly be so unpopular.
Newspoll respondents have cited recovery from the pandemic as the most important issue for voters, and for the first time they thought Labor would be better at it.
The ANU poll similarly showed failure to set up proper PCR testing infrastructure to prepare for a third wave and refusal to make rapid antigen tests free for everyone like in other countries have been Bad Moves for the government.
Maybe Scott Morrison should stop washing women’s hair and playing ukelele and start actually doing his job.
