Essential Research: coronavirus and attitudes to China

A major souring in Australians’ attitudes to China but little change on coronavirus (at least since last week), according to the latest Essential poll.

Another week, another Essential Research coronavirus poll — this one focusing on attitudes to China, which have notably soured. As related by The Guardian, respondents were asked if they had a favourable or unfavourable view of China’s influences on Australian life, which produced a net rating of minus 30% on trade, compared with plus 1% last August, and a net rating of minus 40% for Chinese business operating in Australia, down from minus 21%. There were also scores of minus 26% for defence, minus 36% for politics and minus 9% for culture. Conversely, the United States scored net positive scores, albeit that these were quite a lot bigger for defence (plus 29%), business (plus 15%) and trade (plus 14%) than politics (plus 2%) and culture (plus 7%).

Asked which relationship would be more beneficial to strengthen, 42% favoured the US and 18% China, compared with 38% and 28% last August. Respondents had two bob each way on trade in that 53% thought Australia “needs to do all it can to avoid a trade war with China”, with 17% opposed, but 48% felt Australia should impose retaliatory tariffs, with 22% opposed. The poll found “more than half” believe China’s trade sanctions against Australia were motivated by the government’s call for an investigation into the origins of COVID-19.

The poll continued its weekly suite of questions on coronavirus, recording no change on the government’s handling of the crisis, which was rated positively by 73% and negatively by 11%. Levels of concern little changed on last week (79% either very or quite concerned, down one, and 21% either not at all or not that concerned, up one). A divide appears to be opening on restrictions, with higher responses for both lifting them as soon as possible (up five to 14%) and holding off (up two to 27%). The poll was conducted Thursday to Sunday from a sample of 1087; a full report should be published later today.

Note that below this post is a dedicated thread for the Eden-Monaro by-election, which you are encouraged to use if you have something specific to say on that subject.

UPDATE: Full report here.

Author: William Bowe

William Bowe is a Perth-based election analyst and occasional teacher of political science. His blog, The Poll Bludger, has existed in one form or another since 2004, and is one of the most heavily trafficked websites on Australian politics.

2,091 comments on “Essential Research: coronavirus and attitudes to China”

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  1. This is a pretty alarming report of coronavirus spreading across rural US. Thank goodness Australia had an effective response to the pandemic. It could’ve been so much different here.

    Of the 25 rural counties with the highest per capita case rates, 20 have a meatpacking plant or prison where the virus took hold and spread with abandon, then leaped into the community when workers took it home.

    Infection has raced through immigrant worker communities, where poverty or immigration status prevent some of the sick from seeking care and language barriers hinder access to information. It has taken hold in counties where residents flout social distancing guidelines or believe the pandemic to be exaggerated, the virus’s lethality a myth spread by President Trump’s political foes and a liberal media.

    https://www.washingtonpost.com/nation/2020/05/24/coronavirus-rural-america-outbreaks/?arc404=true

  3. Morning all. Lovely photo BK and thanks for the roundup.

    Before commenting on Australian politics and Scomo’s impending plan to shovel money to business mates as a “road to recovery”, I am amazed by the statements from Britain by Boris and his chief adviser Cummings.

    Boris is plainly lying to protect his man, who has been spotted by multiple citizens breaking the isolation rules, in a way that is very damaging. What has Cummings got on Boris that he won’t cut him adrift? Are they really that good friends?
    https://www.abc.net.au/news/2020-05-25/who-is-dominic-cummings-did-he-break-uk-coronavirus-restrictions/12281822

  4. Not much insight needed to guess this will happen. I think I’ll take the opportunity to go grocery shopping and wait for the “analysis” – and not by the irritating Jane Norman.

    @UrbanWronski
    ·
    7m
    National Press Club today, Scott Morrison will “outline a vision” to “reset” economic growth called “JobMaker” — an overhaul of the skills and training and industrial relations systems.
    Vision? Expect a rehash of neoliberal slogans, IPA goals and an attack on workers’ rights.

  5. Cud
    You may find this article about spread in restaurants useful.
    https://www.businessinsider.com.au/air-conditioning-spread-coronavirus-restaurant-can-service-industry-open-again-2020-4?r=US&IR=T

    Our noisy restaurants, where people have to yell to be heard, are enhancing transmission.
    And hygiene is also important
    See this article
    https://www.theguardian.com/world/2020/may/15/how-coronavirus-spreads-in-restaurant-video

    Frankly, with the crazy way Sydneysiders have taken to re-opening, I expect Gladys will be in a pickle by the end of June

  6. Cud Chewer

    “Greg Hunt says states and territories are not likely to return to a lockdown situation again once restrictions to curb COVID-19 are lifted.

    Would that be this “Greg Hunt” ? 🙂

    Australia to get “miracle drug” against coronavirus soon

    Health minister Greg Hunt spoke on A Current Affair about how he has struck a deal to bring hydroxychloroquine into Australia.
    Hunt was clear that experts were “cautiously hopeful” that the drug “can have an impact”.

    “It’s not a perfect cure, it’s not a perfect prevention, it’s not fully proven but there have been some promising trials around the world.

    https://www.wyza.com.au/articles/health/australia-to-get-miracle-drug-against-coronavirus-soon.aspx

  7. Socrates,

    Yes, Libération declared categorically, “the answer is yes. There really is one rule for Dominic Cummings, prime minister Boris Johnson’s special adviser, and another, quite different rule for the rest of the British public.”

    Yes indeed, France’s left-leaning daily repeated, “Cummings may disregard, without consequence, the lockdown imposed on the rest of the country. And yes, the real boss at No 10 is this unelected adviser, and not its current tenant, Boris Johnson.”

    News of Cummings’ 500-mile round trip to Durham, and of Johnson’s decision to back his controversial adviser, left much of the international media doubting the prime minister’s judgment, condemning his “shameless” response – and wondering who is really in charge in Downing St.

    In telling the public that “the efforts and sacrifices demanded of them – staying home, not visiting even dying relatives” simply did not apply to his closest adviser, Johnson had “confirmed the exceptional influence” Cummings exerts on him, Libération said.

    https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2020/may/25/cummings-is-the-real-boss-world-press-pours-scorn-on-boris-johnson

  8. Job Maker predictions ?
    1.Vast amounts of money, a lot/all of which is rebranded
    2.Will start about 3 months later than required
    3.Will only be given to suitable providers ( maaates )
    4.In 6 months the bulk of the money won’t be allocated, but rather “saved”

    Miss anything ?

  9. As for Australian politics, Labor was correct to support the Covid lockdown (mainly decided by State premiers) and Jobkeeper support payments. But now it must go on the attack.

    Scomo’s plan for recovery is no plan at all. SerfMaker sounds more like WorkChoices than a stimulus. All the power and money in the bosses’ hands, with a neutered industrial court to oversee them. And he warns it may take five years to recover?? The economy will recover in that time without any government help. So why spend any money at all if you are that pessimistic about the effects?

    This is setting up the dumber 3/4 of the Australian population to accept austerity. It the road to calvary, not the road to recovery. Scomo is no different as PM than he was as Treasurer.
    https://www.abc.net.au/news/2020-05-26/scott-morrison-warns-years-of-pain-post-coronavirus-economy/12285142

  10. Maude

    The sad thing is that given the available evidence, Gladys and her CMO should be on TV with a few simple messages. One of which should be “eat outdoors”.

  12. Michael Pascoe
    @MichaelPascoe01
    · 9h
    So it looks like standard operating procedure – a Readers Digest version of Morrison’s speech distributed to the gallery this evening. Given that the highlights are “getting the economy out of ICU” and getting companies “off the medication’, it bodes ill for the nation…

  13. The Libkin campaign against Vic Labor. Rexology has fallen into line. Nothing new here. The LibNats, Lib-Lite, LibKin and LibNation are on a unity ticket.

  14. Maude the BI article is good for the fact that it clearly states…

    “For the struggling restaurants desperate to reopen in the coming months, the researchers’ findings are evidence that work will not just return to normal after the pandemic, but there might be ways to limit the risk of spreading the virus. There will likely be caps on how long patrons can spend eating, restaurants will operate at lower capacity, air-conditioning or heating may have to stay off, and employees might be advised to wear masks.”

    We need more good information like this to be circulated widely through Facebook etc.

    I’m surprised Gladys hasn’t talked about allowed eateries to open more tables outdoors and also take over some road space in the evening. That would be sensible.

  15. Poroti,
    Yep, that’s the same Greg Hunt.
    The one who makes announcements but knows he doesn’t have to actually implement any plans because that’s the State’s responsibility.
    Gladys will be renewing her familiarity with the underside of a large bus.
    (Edit:After clambering out following the bushfires)

  16. Socrates

    Do you recall if Labor ever protested over how slow we were at closing our borders or commented on how the lockdown happened far too late? Honest question because I might have missed something.

  18. And he’s going to over-ride the States, who have been trying to counteract the withdrawal of funds.

    “The current National Agreement for Skills and Workforce Development is also fundamentally flawed and needs to change,” the prime minister will tell the National Press Club in Canberra.

    Mr Morrison will flag changes to the funding model, which sees $1.5 billion of federal cash flow to state governments annually for skills and training.

    “The Commonwealth has no line of sight on how states use this funding,” he is expected to say.

    “Where targets do exist, they are aspirational. If not met, there are no consequences.” Subsidies, loans and other funding would be based on the scope for return on investment.

  20. Morrison’s speech today will be rehash of IPA demands wrapped up in a collection of slogans and cliches (e.g. JobMaker, getting the economy out of the ICU).

  21. Maude Lynne

    The Libs have taken a leaf from Vlad Putin’s playbook. It was noted early on that he was leaving the imposition of restrictions (the nasties) to regional governors and mayors. While he left himself the task of handing out subsidies,grants,assistance (the goodies) . It comes to mind every time I hear Scrott or one of his henchlackeys pleading “let the people go free” to State premiers.

  22. From The Guardian:

    Richard Marles is having a chat to Sky News this morning, where he gives an idea of where Labor is headed with its attacks on Scott Morrison this week:

    “He likes to be there on the good days, but when times get tough, he likes to be somewhere else.”

    Addressing the ‘take the economy out of the ICU’ line that Morrison will be using to frame his press club address today, Marles says:

    “The fact of the matter is the economy barely had a heartbeat before we came into the Covid crisis, it was already really sick. We had the lowest wage growth on record. We had a government which doubled the debt, we had an economy with anaemic growth, and that set the conditions for this economy going into the Covid crisis.

  23. I sign on this morning and all is right with the world as I see the usual handful of suspects trolling me. I appreciate how you can’t stop thinking about me.

  25. The press club will be a great occasion where he rolls out the new improved even emptier slogan “Job Maker”. So much better than the old ‘Job Keeper” .

  26. According to the usual suspects I “rail”, etc, etc, etc while at the same time all I do is “cut and paste”. With such ‘logic’ no wonder *they* “don’t get it”.

    Such a confused bunch.

  27. @UrbanWronski
    ·
    2m
    MSM will have already read Scotty’s speech, leading to a mind-numbing weariness and a sense of fait accompli. Old news before it’s news.
    News Corp supporters will bowl up Dorothy Dixers. Last question will be on how he stuffed up Jobkeeper. He’s bound to dismiss its premise.

  28. “He likes to be there on the good days, but when times get tough, he likes to be somewhere else.”

    Ain’t that the truth! The very essence of a fair weather PM.

  29. Surely Job Maker is needed to fix things after Job Keeper failed to keep jobs?
    And Job Maker will also fail to make jobs.
    Doesn’t anyone measure the success of these brain farts?

  30. Cud

    No, not to my recollection. The whole Federal approach seemed to change the day after Jacinda Ardern acted in closing NZ borders as I recall. Concerns may have been expressed at State level.

    Vogon Poet

    I agree with your summation of SerfMaker. I added one point that I think is also relevant – by giving government money to private business operators to create jobs in an era of high unemployment and weak industrial laws, they are creating an enormous imbalance of power. I now think young Australians out of work will be as badly exploited as backpackers are by farmers. Labor must oppose this, as it is their core business.

  31. Good Morning

    As was pointed out by another poster. Different political opinions is not trolling.

    So Pegasus does not troll Labor posters and Labor posters do not troll Pegasus.

    Vive la difference.

  32. Maude Lynn

    “Doesn’t anyone measure the success of these brain farts?”

    As with Greek austerity, success will be measured by the flow of money to mates.

  33. Andrews government used China deal to target Liberal seats

    https://www.theage.com.au/national/andrews-government-used-china-deal-to-target-liberal-seats-20200525-p54w8x.html

    The Victorian Labor Party used the politics of the state’s controversial Belt and Road agreement with China as an electoral weapon to help the Andrews government win votes in three seats with a high number of Chinese-Australians in its 2018 election victory.

    As the Labor government continues to shrug off pressure to walk away from its memorandum of understanding with China, a prominent Australian China-watcher has highlighted how Premier Daniel Andrews and his colleagues used the relationship with China to win votes.

    A senior manager with Labor’s election campaign told The Age on Monday that the agreement, and the controversy it sparked, helped Labor gain the winning edge in three eastern suburbs seats with high numbers of voters of Chinese descent.

    Mr Andrews signed the first Belt and Road MOU in October 2018, just a month before the first-term Labor government faced voters at the election.

    In doing so, Victoria became part of the Chinese government’s $1 trillion global infrastructure investment program that its critics say is an attempt by the Communist nation to exert economic and strategic influence around the world.

    News of the deal sparked a storm of criticism from the Coalition at state and federal levels, with Victorian Liberals demanding to see what was in the text signed by the Premier. Mr Andrews eventually bowed to pressure and published the document.

    A senior Labor operative said the signing of the agreement itself was not a “vote driver” in the Chinese community but that the the opposition’s “vitriolic” response handed Labor the material for a negative campaign against the Liberals in the seats of Box Hill, Burwood and Mount Waverly.
    :::
    A senior Liberal closely associated with the eastern suburbs campaigning effort in 2018 said the Labor claims were based more on opposition immigration policy than the BRI deal.

    Seats gained: Box Hill (Labor gain, first time since 1988); Burwood (Labor gain, first time since 2006); Mount Waverley (Labor gain, first time since 2006)

  35. Easy to tell there’s a state election soon in Qld but not in SA, WA or Tas.

    Birmingham attacks Queensland but not the other states.

    “Tourism Minister Simon Birmingham has hit out at Queensland for keeping its borders closed, accusing the State Government of “pretending” Australia hasn’t had success in tackling coronavirus.”
    (ABC updates)

  37. Pegasus

    Very smart of the Andrews government to do that. I don’t know why the Labor posters are trying to deny that. After all the LNP did it with Glady’s Liu to great effect too.

    Watch what they do not what they say.

  41. Yes, what did happen to Scott Cam? More wasted money?

    Chris Johnson
    @seearjay
    ·
    51m
    Moreover, this “bewildering” and “unresponsive” training system is what he sent Scott Cam to resurrect?

  46. guytaur

    I don’t understand why bringing up facts to their attention, viz Andrews has been the only premier to sign up to China’s BRI, the federal coalition has not, and Andrews has been criticised by Labor politicians, both state and federal, such as Pallas, Kitching and Palaszczuk amongst others, sets them off baying and spitting chips.

    (Rheorical question).

  47. Maude Lynne @ #79 Tuesday, May 26th, 2020 – 7:02 am

    Surely Job Maker is needed to fix things after Job Keeper failed to keep jobs?
    And Job Maker will also fail to make jobs.
    Doesn’t anyone measure the success of these brain farts?

    You should know by now that the name indicates the opposite of the result.

    JobSeeker – there where always going to be very few jobs to seek.
    JobKeeper – certainly let many go into the net.
    JobMaker – probably only in Morrison’s marketing department.

  48. Peg
    Without checking i don’t think the ALP won Mount Waverley at the last state election.

    EDIT
    Checked and they did.

  49. So, I’d really like SfM to outline how all the Unemployed with no jobs to go back to will be able to take up these new jobs in the Mining Industry commensurate with their numbers? A mining pit or fracking hole on every corner?

  50. Jaeger @ #72 Tuesday, May 26th, 2020 – 8:57 am

    From The Guardian:

    Richard Marles is having a chat to Sky News this morning, where he gives an idea of where Labor is headed with its attacks on Scott Morrison this week:

    “He likes to be there on the good days, but when times get tough, he likes to be somewhere else.”

    Addressing the ‘take the economy out of the ICU’ line that Morrison will be using to frame his press club address today, Marles says:

    “The fact of the matter is the economy barely had a heartbeat before we came into the Covid crisis, it was already really sick. We had the lowest wage growth on record. We had a government which doubled the debt, we had an economy with anaemic growth, and that set the conditions for this economy going into the Covid crisis.

    Encouraging to see Labor repeating the stuff about the state of the economy before the plague.
    They must keep it up, gradually eroding the idea out there and the myth pushed by Scovid that everything was hunk dory before the plague.

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