When asked to name up to three issues that personally interest or concern them the most and that the Australian Government should focus on, almost half of Australians (47%) describe issues related to hospitals, healthcare and ageing, in contrast with our last True Issues poll taken in amid the catastrophic 2019-20 bushfire season.
Four months into its response to the COVID-19 pandemic, Federal Government performance is rated at an index score of 63, substantially higher than in February and the Government’s highest performance score since True Issues began in June 2013.
Eight in ten Australians (83%) are concerned about the COVID-19 pandemic, including almost half (48%) who are extremely or very concerned and Millennials (aged 18-34 years) are experiencing the most anxiety over COVID-19, recording significantly higher levels of concern across most of the impacts measured.
When asked to name up to three issues that personally interest or concern them the most and that the Australian Government should focus on, more than a third (36%) of Australians describe issues related to the environment and climate change, before health, jobs and the economy.
At the start of the new Parliamentary year, public sentiment about the direction of business and the economy continues to be negative, but Australians are feeling more optimistic about their own personal situation than in the last True Issues poll.
At the end of a challenging summer for Scott Morrison, the electorate rates the Federal Government’s performance unchanged from November (with the bushfire season well under way), and lower than its post-election peak of 49 in last June’s True Issues poll, while the NSW State Government’s performance has improved since the summer.