April 12, 2008

Abstract: (Angus Reid Global Monitor) - Public support for Kevin Rudd remains high in Australia, according to a poll by Newspoll published in The Australian. 69 per cent of respondents are satisfied with their prime minister’s performance, up four points since mid-March.

(Angus Reid Global Monitor) - Public support for Kevin Rudd remains high in Australia, according to a poll by Newspoll published in The Australian. 69 per cent of respondents are satisfied with their prime minister’s performance, up four points since mid-March.

Australia held a federal election in November 2007. Final results gave the 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. 36 per cent of respondents are satisfied with Nelson’s performance.

In the preferred prime minister category, 73 per cent of respondents choose Rudd, while only nine per cent pick Nelson as head of government.

On Apr. 7, Nelson said Rudd should not openly consider turning Australia into a republic, adding, "Australians have fundamental concerns, whether it’s a drought, whether it’s feeding, clothing, housing your children, keeping a small business going and making sure that the government is actually focusing on the development of the budget which is probably the most important in recent history. (...) I very much support the current arrangements, but Australia is a democracy and there are many Australians, many members of the Liberal Party, who would like to see Australia as a republic."

Polling Data

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

	Apr. 6	Mar. 16	Mar. 2
Satisfied	69%	65%	69%
Dissatisfied	13%	17%	12%
Uncommitted	18%	18%	19%

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

	Apr. 6	Mar. 16	Mar. 2
Satisfied	36%	35%	29%
Dissatisfied	38%	37%	38%
Uncommitted	26%	28%	33%

Who do you think would make the better prime minister?

	Apr. 6	Mar. 16	Mar. 2
Kevin Rudd (ALP)	73%	70%	73%
Brendan Nelson (Lib.)	9%	10%	7%
Uncommitted	18%	20%	20%

Source: Newspoll / The Australian
Methodology: Telephone interviews with 1,145 Australian voters, conducted from Apr. 4 to Apr. 6, 2008. Margin of error is 3 per cent.