Howard hurt by refugee scandal

THE children overboard affair and the crisis surrounding Governor-General Peter Hollingworth have damaged the standing of the Howard government in the eyes of the electorate, internal ALP polling shows.

A copy of the polling, which has been obtained by The Sunday Telegraph, shows the children-overboard affair damaged the electorate's trust in the Government.

More than three in five voters polled believed the Howard government was more concerned about political survival than looking after ordinary Australians.

Among swinging "soft" voters, the proportion was even higher, with about three in four people believing political survival was more important.

The poll, commissioned by Labor's national secretariat, canvassed the views of 1000 voters last weekend.

The 64 per cent of voters who believed the Government was placing its own interests above those of the community highlighted concerns about Mr Howard's leadership among many Coalition voters.

"Anything above 60 per cent is a strong sentiment," a senior Labor source said.

But it appears that although many Liberal voters may not like the way some issues have been handled, most of them do not care when it comes to trusting Mr Howard to lead the country.

Forty-seven per cent of voters polled said the scandals had made no difference to their trust in the Prime Minister.

Swinging voters were slightly more polarised, with 54 per cent saying their trust in Mr Howard had been diminished.

The children-overboard controversy was rated by 46 per cent of voters surveyed as the most damaging issue for the Government.

But the poll showed that when it came to their own feelings, voters were slightly more dissatisfied with Mr Howard's handling of the controversy surrounding Mr Hollingworth.

On broader issues, the poll found 44 per cent of people were satisfied with the Government's performance, down from 53 per cent when Labor's previous poll was conducted on the second weekend in February.

Mr Howard's personal satisfaction rating fell from 59 to 48 per cent. Dissatisfied voters told pollsters the children-overboard issue was their first concern, followed by the impact of the GST and a belief that the Government lacked principle.

Labor's pollster, UMR Research, noted "a general belief that John Howard is dishonest".

Senator Bill Heffernan's accusations about High Court judge Michael Kirby failed to damage the Government significantly, rating a distant third among issues of concern.


	Government News Index site index HOME Howard hurt by refugee scandal By SIMON KEARNEY Sunday Telegraph 31mar02 THE children overboard affair and the crisis surrounding Governor-General Peter Hollingworth have damaged the standing of the Howard government in the eyes of the electorate, internal ALP polling shows. A copy of the polling, which has been obtained by The Sunday Telegraph, shows the children-overboard affair damaged the electorate's trust in the Government. More than three in five voters polled believed the Howard government was more concerned about political survival than looking after ordinary Australians. Among swinging "soft" voters, the proportion was even higher, with about three in four people believing political survival was more important. The poll, commissioned by Labor's national secretariat, canvassed the views of 1000 voters last weekend. The 64 per cent of voters who believed the Government was placing its own interests above those of the community highlighted concerns about Mr Howard's leadership among many Coalition voters. "Anything above 60 per cent is a strong sentiment," a senior Labor source said. But it appears that although many Liberal voters may not like the way some issues have been handled, most of them do not care when it comes to trusting Mr Howard to lead the country. Forty-seven per cent of voters polled said the scandals had made no difference to their trust in the Prime Minister. Swinging voters were slightly more polarised, with 54 per cent saying their trust in Mr Howard had been diminished. The children-overboard controversy was rated by 46 per cent of voters surveyed as the most damaging issue for the Government. But the poll showed that when it came to their own feelings, voters were slightly more dissatisfied with Mr Howard's handling of the controversy surrounding Mr Hollingworth. On broader issues, the poll found 44 per cent of people were satisfied with the Government's performance, down from 53 per cent when Labor's previous poll was conducted on the second weekend in February. Mr Howard's personal satisfaction rating fell from 59 to 48 per cent. Dissatisfied voters told pollsters the children-overboard issue was their first concern, followed by the impact of the GST and a belief that the Government lacked principle. Labor's pollster, UMR Research, noted "a general belief that John Howard is dishonest". Senator Bill Heffernan's accusations about High Court judge Michael Kirby failed to damage the Government significantly, rating a distant third among issues of concern. Index