Yahoo News Essential poll: voters divided on PM's plan to crack down on environmental protests
Australians are divided about a controversial plan, telegraphed by Scott Morrison, to curb environmental activism against the resources sector – with the Guardian Essential sample split between support, opposition and indifference.
In the wake of the prime minister using a combative speech to the Queensland Resources Council to unload on “apocalyptic” progressivism and float potential curbs on activism, voters were asked whether they would support a change that could make consumer or environmental boycotts illegal in Australia.
The sample of 1,075 respondents split three ways, with 39% opposed, either somewhat or strongly, 33% in favour, either somewhat or strongly, and 28% neither supporting nor opposing the idea.
Related: Coalition warned outlawing climate boycotts could breach constitution
The survey suggests Australians have mixed views about protest activity, although the right to undertake peaceful action is strongly supported by respondents.
A substantial majority of the sample (82%) say peaceful protest is a fundamental right in a democracy, but 58% say governments should limit protests if they disrupt business.
Some Morrison government ministers have been critical of environmental activism that targets banks, with the objective of persuading financial institutions to desist from bankrolling coal projects. But a majority in the sample, 53%, says activists should have the right to pressure banks not to invest in new coalmines.
While voters support activism in general, and specifically efforts to dissuade banks from financing coal projects, just under half the sample (47%) back the idea that governments have the right to limit citizen protests when the activity is “contrary to the national interest”.
Voters were also asked what protest activity they, personally, had taken part in. The dominant activity was signing an online petition (44%), followed by signing a written petition (39%), then attending a march or rally (17%), going on strike from work (13%), and signing up to an online political campaign (10%). Just over a third of the sample indicated they had done none of these things.
Voters between 18 and 34 were more likely to have attended a rally than voters over 55, and older voters were more likely than younger voters to have signed a written petition. The level of clicktivism – the signing on online petitions – was similar across the demographic cohorts.
It remains unclear what proposal the Morrison government will ultimately advance to curb activism. There has been a suggestion the Coalition will seek to change the secondary boycotts provisions in competition laws to outlaw environmental and consumer boycotts, although legal academics have warned that could hit constitutional trouble.
The attorney general, Christian Porter, has also raised the possibility of going after litigation funders who bankroll class actions to try to curb lawfare. Porter recently accused the activist group Market Forces of trying to “impose their political will on companies across the country through widespread, coordinated harassment and threats of boycotts”.
Market Forces has been active in trying to persuade big corporates like the Commonwealth Bank and insurance firms not to fund thermal coal developments, and it was also active in the campaign against financing the Adani coal project.
The new snapshot of voter sentiment about the possibility of the Coalition curbing environmental activism comes against a backdrop of renewed public debate about the contribution of climate change to catastrophic bushfires that have devastated parts of New South Wales over the weekend.
With the danger forecast to intensify on Tuesday, the deputy prime minister, Michael McCormack, declared on Monday the renewed climate change debate was driven by “inner-city raving lunatics” – even though one of the main participants was the mayor of the regional town of Glen Innes – a community that has lost two residents and dozens of homes.
This fortnight’s poll also surveyed voter views about the performance of Morrison and Anthony Albanese. Approval of the prime minister is down slightly this month and disapproval is up (45% approve and 41% disapprove, compared with 47% and 38% in October).
While these negative movements are within the poll’s margin of error, Essential says the main drivers of the change are men (approval now at 47%, down from 53% in October), Queensland residents (40%, down from 47%) and residents aged 18-34 (41%, down from 50% in October).
Related: Inside Market Forces, the small climate group Scott Morrison wants to put out of business
Albanese also suffered negative movements since October. A third of the sample (37%) approve of the Labor leader’s performance (down from 40% in October) while 34% disapprove (up from 29%). A good chunk of voters are still unsure about the new opposition leader (29%) but people are coming off the fence. When Albanese first took the leadership in June, 39% said they didn’t know whether they approved or disapproved.
Morrison remains ahead of Albanese as preferred prime minister 44% to 28%, with 29% of the sample unable to nominate a preference.
There has been controversy post-election about the reliability of opinion polling, as none of the major surveys – Newspoll, Ipsos, Galaxy or Essential – correctly predicted a Coalition victory on 18 May. The polls instead projected Labor in front on a two-party-preferred vote of 51-49 and 52-48.
The lack of precision in the polling has prompted public reflection at Essential, as has been flagged by its executive director, Peter Lewis.
Guardian Australia is not now publishing measurements of primary votes or a two-party-preferred calculation, but is continuing to publish survey results of responses to questions about the leaders and a range of policy issues.
The poll’s margin of error is plus or minus 3%.
