March 23, 2008

Abstract: (Angus Reid Global Monitor) - The majority of people in Australia continue to feel at ease under the leadership of Kevin Rudd, according to a poll by Newspoll published in The Australian. 65 per cent of respondents are satisfied with the way the prime minister is doing his job, down four points since mid-February.

(Angus Reid Global Monitor) - The majority of people in Australia continue to feel at ease under the leadership of Kevin Rudd, according to a poll by Newspoll published in The Australian. 65 per cent of respondents are satisfied with the way the prime minister is doing his job, down four points since mid-February.

Australia held a federal election in November 2007. Final results gave Rudd’s Australian Labor Party (ALP) 85 seats in the 150-member House of Representatives. Rudd was officially sworn in as prime minister in December, bringing an end to the 11-year tenure of Liberal leader John Howard as head of Australia’s government.

Howard failed to retain his seat in the Bennelong constituency and stepped down as Liberal leader. Brendan Nelson—a former defence minister—defeated former environment minister Malcolm Turnbull in an internal leadership ballot by just three votes. 35 per cent of respondents are satisfied with Nelson’s performance, up six points since mid-February.

In the preferred prime minister category, 70 per cent of respondents choose Rudd, while 10 per cent pick Nelson as head of government.

On Mar. 20, Rudd announced a series of measures to close the gaps of life expectancy and health between Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal Australians. Among other things, the government will invest about $13 million U.S. in combating high smoking rates in Aboriginal communities, as well as $17 million U.S. to attract Aboriginal students into the health sector.

Official data has shown that non-Aboriginal Australians live on average 17 years more than their Aboriginal counterparts. Tom Calma, the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Social Justice Commissioner, celebrated Rudd’s announcement, saying, "Benchmarks and targets for achieving these fundamental human rights for indigenous Australians are not only possible, but are now firm commitments. Let us hope that an indigenous baby born in 2030 has the same life expectation, the same access to quality health services and the same life outcomes as non-indigenous Australians."

Polling Data

Are you satisfied or dissatisfied with the way Kevin Rudd is doing his job as prime minister?

	Mar. 16	Mar. 2	Feb. 17
Satisfied	65%	69%	68%
Dissatisfied	17%	12%	13%
Uncommitted	18%	19%	19%

Are you satisfied or dissatisfied with the way Brendan Nelson is doing his job as leader of the opposition?

	Mar. 16	Mar. 2	Feb. 17
Satisfied	35%	29%	40%
Dissatisfied	37%	38%	31%
Uncommitted	28%	33%	29%

Who do you think would make the better prime minister?

	Mar. 16	Mar. 2	Feb. 17
Kevin Rudd (ALP)	70%	73%	79%
Brendan Nelson (Lib.)	10%	7%	9%
Uncommitted	20%	20%	21%

Source: Newspoll / The Australian
Methodology: Telephone interviews with 1,144 Australian voters, conducted from Mar. 14 to Mar. 16, 2008. Margin of error is 3 per cent.