Big Issues Summer Survey results: How Tasmanians feel about politics and the COVID-19 pandemic

Despite COVID-19 and key policy concerns, Tasmanians are looking to a brighter future, according to a Mercury survey of nearly 800 readers.

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TASMANIANS have strongly backed the government’s response to the pandemic but remain

unconvinced about some of its key policy initiatives, according to a Mercury readers’ survey.

Nearly 800 readers took the time to answer a range of questions about the state of the state in 2020, sharing their opinions on issues ranging from politics to health and the environment.

The Mercury will publish the results of the Big Issues Summer survey — the most comprehensive annual assessment of the state’s mood — over coming editions.

The pandemic dominated the news during 2020, and the survey shows it has also dominated the popular consciousness.

Eighty-three per cent of respondents to the survey said the government had handed the pandemic well and 64 per cent said the response had improved their opinion of Premier Peter Gutwein for the better.

Premier Peter Gutwein. Picture: Chris Kidd

There was overwhelming support for the government’s decision to take a tough stance on borders, with 89 per cent of respondents saying they backed that approach and 86 per cent saying that the lockdown had not been not too tough.

But, 62 per cent said they did not believe the state’s health system was ready for another outbreak.

Readers reported finding the restrictions imposed in response to the pandemic created tension in their daily lives — particularly increased social isolation.

Responses to a question about the difficulties of 2020 included many highlighting the difficulty of “being alone, “being at home”, “being in quarantine and “being isolated from family and friends on the mainland” as typical responses.

Many readers nominated what they saw as inconsistent advice from the government, and there were many complaints about anti-vaxxers and conspiracy theorists, and calls for greater stoicism in the face of adversity.

“Dealing with misinformed idiots or people who feel like they are being hard done by — but are in fact just facing the slightest bit of adversity in their life,” one respondent nominated as the toughest challenge of the pandemic.

The pandemic and the government response appears to have softened attitudes toward our political leaders in general.

To a question about whether they had faith in our state and federal political leadership, 61 per cent of readers responded that they did not. But the figure was 79 per cent last year.

And to a question about whether the nation was heading in the right direction, the number of people who responded positively rose from 21 per cent to 38 per cent.

Perhaps thanks to his response to the pandemic, Peter Gutwein was the public figure who was most frequently nominated as the most admired politician by Mercury readers.

Honourable mentions go to his deputy Jeremy Rockliff, Independent federal MP Andrew Wilkie, Senator Jacqui Lambie and state Greens leader Cassy O’Connor who were the next-most commonly nominated.

As would be expected, there was a range of responses to the year in politics, from the complimentary to the downright angry. Write-in responses to a question about the state government’s performance included:

* “Based on decisions that have had to be made this year, I think that the government has made some incredibly difficult, but wise decisions. “

* “I think it has been a particularly difficult year for everyone and the government has done a great job under these circumstances.

* “A difficult year generally well managed. Lack of action on key issues including health and transparency. Local government in any area of Tasmania is barely awake.” 

* “Good at quick fixes but poor at long term vision, investment and planning and making unpopular decisions that pay off in the long term”

* “Australias most secretive government just about sums it up.”

* “An average bunch doing an average job”

Support for some of the more contentious government policies seems to have firmed during the year, with questions on politics trending in a more supportive direction.

Support for the government’s thwarted bid to introduce mandatory minimum sentences for child sex offenders was 62 per cent among respondents in the latest survey, compared with 64 per cent the year before.

Support for the government’s controversial proposed anti-protest legislation rose from 36 per cent to 43 per cent of respondents.

And the proportion of respondents who backed developments in national parks rose slightly from 35 per cent to 37 per cent.

The most overwhelming support of any question asked in the survey was the 88 per cent support for legislation to allow voluntary assisted dying — up from 86 per cent the previous year.

The lower house voted in favour of legislation introduced by Legislative Council member Mike Gaffney in the last sitting day of 2020 and the bill is the first order of business for the parliament in the new year.

The proportion of respondents who thought the government was open and transparent was low at just 28 per cent — but that figure is an improvement on last year’s result of 18 per cent.

Transparency of government was a theme frequently mentioned by readers.

And 80 per cent of respondents were opposed to Tasmanian MPs receiving a pay rise, down from 88 per cent last year. That matter is being considered by the Tasmanian Industrial Commission.

The survey attracted 765 responses from Mercury readers who elected to respond via the website. The survey sample, while large, may not be representative of a random sample of the Tasmanian population given the nature of the survey. 

SAFE IN THE KNOWLEDGE RESPONSE IS WORKING

TASMANIANS’ approval of the government’s COVID-19 response is underpinned by a deep desire to feel safe, a leading social researcher says.

University of Tasmania Institute for Social Change director Libby Lester said the Mercury survey results reflected the institute’s research into attitudes to the pandemic response.

“We started surveying in April, shortly after the pandemic was declared, and all up have had around 9000 responses. The Mercury’s results broadly correlate with ours in terms of attitudes to government measures,” Professor Lester said.

“Our respondents were generally supportive of most government measures and understood why they had been imposed. The notable exception was the closure of national parks and reserves.”

Professor Lester said a sense of safety amid tumultuous world events was paramount among Tasmanians.

“In national surveys, less than 5 per cent of people reported feeling very safe given world events, but in Tasmania we’ve found between half and 80 per cent of people say they feel very safe,” she said.

“Government measures limiting COVID’s spread in Tasmania must contribute to those very high levels of feeling safe, with our results showing that safety is something Tasmanians value greatly.”

Professor Lester said the pandemic had also realigned Tasmanians’ attitudes towards the key sectors of tourism and trade.

“We’ve found nuance in terms of how Tasmanians want to connect and reconnect to the world. While they are supportive of our export and tourism sectors, many have commented that COVID has presented an ideal opportunity to reset and consider how we ensure Tasmania’s natural places, resources and products are used and developed sustainably,” she said.

And you don’t have to go far to find Tasmanians appreciating the simple things in life amid the state’s COVID-19-free status. Friends Millie and Kate von Steiglitz, Savannah Holwill and Annabel Eastoe, who were among a healthy number of patrons socialising along the Salamanca strip on Friday, said they were broadly supportive of the restrictions that had been put in place during the height of the pandemic.

Millie von Stieglitz, Kate von Stieglitz, Savannah Holwill and Annabel Eastoe enjoy afternoon drinks along Salamanca Place. Picture: Zak Simmonds

“It’s kept us safe,” Ms Eastoe said. “In an unprecedented time, they did a really good job.”

“When you look at the rest of the world, we are in a really good position,” Millie said.

In terms of the government’s poor reputation on openness and transparency, as shown by the survey, UTas public accountability expert Rick Snell said the findings were “abysmal”. “Twenty-eight per cent is not a result any government that has pretensions to lay claim to being liberal democratic should accept,” Professor Snell said.

“The problem is that Tasmanian bureaucrats and political spin doctors have views about informational democracy that were set in concrete in the 1950s.

“Even when other jurisdictions have recognised the value of openness and transparency in building the public trust in managing COVID, the Tasmanian approach has largely been ‘we will let you know what you need to know, when you need to know it and when we determine is the best time.”

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