George Megalogenis' 'Blog August 19, 2008
TWO out of three voters fear a major terrorist attack on home soil even though their support for Australia’s military involvement in the war on terrorism is weakening.
The mixed emotions, revealed in a comparison of exit polling from the 2004 and 2007 elections, stem from a turnaround in public attitudes to the war in Iraq. Voters moved from being mildly supportive of John Howard’s handling of the war in Iraq in 2004 to being opposed three years later.
The shift raises complications for Kevin Rudd because, while the electorate supports his withdrawal of Australian troops from Iraq, it still wants Labor to retain the Howard-era laws to combat terrorism at home – a feeling at odds with the views of many Government MPs who want to tilt the scales of justice back toward personal liberty.
A clear majority of voters believe freedom of speech should not extend to groups that are sympathetic to terrorists (56.8 per cent agreed with this proposition and only 23.2 per cent disagreed). A smaller majority also said police should be allowed to search the houses of these people without a court order (50.5 per cent in favour versus 33.2 per cent opposed).
The Australian Election Study suggests that voters have become relatively less fearful of terrorism as time passed without a follow-up attack on the scale of September 11, 2001, or the first Bali bombing on October 12, 2002.
At the 2004 election, 67.7 per cent of voters thought Australia’s involvement in the war in Iraq had increased the threat of terrorism on home soil. This figure slipped to 56.5 per cent at the 2007 election.
The Australian Election Study posed a new, more general question last year: “How concerned are you that there will be a major terrorist attack on Australian soil in the near future.” Two out of three (65.7 per cent) said they were concerned.
Iraq and terrorism were viewed as second-order issues at both the 2004 and 2007 elections. But it is apparent from the published exit polls, and from what sources from the main parties have said, that Iraq moved from a small vote switcher to the Coalition in 2004 to a small minus in 2007.
The difference can be seen in how voters rated Mr Howard’s handling of the war in Iraq. At the 2004 election, when the occupation was only 18 months old, Mr Howard had 52.3 per cent of the electorate approve his handling of the issue. By 2007, the mood had soured, and only 44.2 per cent of voters gave the then prime minister a tick on Iraq.
Support for Australia’s involvement generally in the war on terrorism dropped over the same period, from 57.5 per cent in 2004 to 51.9 per cent in 2007.
Source: The Australian
TWO out of three voters fear a major terrorist attack on home soil even though their support for Australia’s military involvement in the war on terrorism is weakening.
The mixed emotions, revealed in a comparison of exit polling from the 2004 and 2007 elections, stem from a turnaround in public attitudes to the war in Iraq. Voters moved from being mildly supportive of John Howard’s handling of the war in Iraq in 2004 to being opposed three years later.
The shift raises complications for Kevin Rudd because, while the electorate supports his withdrawal of Australian troops from Iraq, it still wants Labor to retain the Howard-era laws to combat terrorism at home – a feeling at odds with the views of many Government MPs who want to tilt the scales of justice back toward personal liberty.
A clear majority of voters believe freedom of speech should not extend to groups that are sympathetic to terrorists (56.8 per cent agreed with this proposition and only 23.2 per cent disagreed). A smaller majority also said police should be allowed to search the houses of these people without a court order (50.5 per cent in favour versus 33.2 per cent opposed).
The Australian Election Study suggests that voters have become relatively less fearful of terrorism as time passed without a follow-up attack on the scale of September 11, 2001, or the first Bali bombing on October 12, 2002.
At the 2004 election, 67.7 per cent of voters thought Australia’s involvement in the war in Iraq had increased the threat of terrorism on home soil. This figure slipped to 56.5 per cent at the 2007 election.
The Australian Election Study posed a new, more general question last year: “How concerned are you that there will be a major terrorist attack on Australian soil in the near future.” Two out of three (65.7 per cent) said they were concerned.
Iraq and terrorism were viewed as second-order issues at both the 2004 and 2007 elections. But it is apparent from the published exit polls, and from what sources from the main parties have said, that Iraq moved from a small vote switcher to the Coalition in 2004 to a small minus in 2007.
The difference can be seen in how voters rated Mr Howard’s handling of the war in Iraq. At the 2004 election, when the occupation was only 18 months old, Mr Howard had 52.3 per cent of the electorate approve his handling of the issue. By 2007, the mood had soured, and only 44.2 per cent of voters gave the then prime minister a tick on Iraq.
Support for Australia’s involvement generally in the war on terrorism dropped over the same period, from 57.5 per cent in 2004 to 51.9 per cent in 2007.
Source: The Australian
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