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ExecutiveSummaryThisshortreportsummarisestheresultsofaweeklyomnibusconductedbyEssentialResearchwithdataprovidedbyYourSource.Theomnibuswasconductedonlinefromthe25thtothe30thofNovember2008andattracted1000responses.AsidefromthestandardquestionweaskeachweekonFederalvotingpreference,thisweekwealsoaskthepublictoratewhomakeabetterPrimeMinisteroutofJuliaGillardandMalcolmTurnbull,andthenthesamequestionreferringtoJuliaGillardandKevinRudd.ThisweekweasktheAustralianpublicquestionsrelatedtotheglobalfinancialcrisis–whethertheythinkthesituationwillimprove,whatconcernsthemthemostaboutitandwhethertheyfeelmoreorlesssecureintheirjobasaresultofthecurrentglobalfinancialcrisis.WealsoasktheAustralianpublicquestionsrelatedtothefestiveseasonandstaffChristmasparties.Themethodologyusedtocarryoutthisresearchisavailableinappendixone(page8).Pleasenotenotalltablestotal100%duetorounding.

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Federalpolitics–votingintentionQ.IftherewasaFederalelectionheldtoday,towhichpartywouldyouprobablygiveyourfirstpreference?Q.Ifyou‘don’tknow’ontheabovequestion,whichpartyareyoucurrentlyleaningto?*Sampleof1814

2weekaverage % 2PP 2PPshiftfromlastweek

Liberal 32% National 3% TotalLib/Nat 35% 42% ‐2%Labor 48% 58% +2%Greens 8% FamilyFirst 3% Other/Independent 6%

NB.Thedataintheabovetableisderivedfromourweeklyfirstpreferencevotingquestion.Respondentswhoselect‘don’tknow’astheirfirstpreferencearenotincludedintheresults.*Sampleistheculminationofthepasttwoweeks’data.

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BetterPrimeMinisterQ.IfthechoicewasbetweenMalcolmTurnbullandJuliaGillard,whodoyouthinkwouldmakethebetterPrimeMinister?

%MalcolmTurnbull 34%JuliaGillard 39%Don’tknow 27%

Q.IfthechoicewasbetweenKevinRuddandJuliaGillard,whodoyouthinkwouldmakethebetterPrimeMinister?

%KevinRudd 63%JuliaGillard 14%Don’tknow 23%

TheAustralianpublicisinclinedtothinkthatJuliaGillardwouldmakeabetterPrimeMinisterthanMalcolmTurnbull(GillardleadsTurnbullby5%).However,whencomparedwiththePrimeMinisterKevinRuddshetrailsby49percentagepoints.

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GlobalFinancialCrisisandAustraliaQ.Overthenext12monthsdoyouthinkeconomicconditionsinAustraliawillgetbetter,getworseorstaymuchthesame?

Getalotbetter 2%Getalittlebetter 19%Getalittleworse 45%Getalotworse 16%Staymuchthesame 13%Noopinion 5%

ThepollingindicatesthatAustralian’stendtohaveanegativeoutlookforAustralia’seconomicfuture‐61%believethatoverthenext12months,economicconditionsinAustraliawillgetalittle/alotworseandonly21%thinktheywillgetbetter.However,only16%believetheywillget“alotworse”.Q.Thinkingaboutthecurrentglobalfinancialcrisis,whichofthefollowingareyoumostconcernedabout?

27Oct2008 ThisweekHigherinflation 27% 20%Increasingunemployment 23% 29%Businessesclosingdown 12% 13%Valueofsuperannuationandinvestmentsfalling 34% 32%Noopinion 5% 6%

Thinkingaboutthecurrentglobalfinancialcrisis,thethingsthatconcernpeoplethemostarethe‘valueofsuperannuationandinvestmentsfalling’(32%)and‘increasingunemployment’(29%)–thesetwoconcernsalsoratedreasonablyhighwhenweaskedthesamequestioninlateOctober.ComparedtotheOctoberresults,peoplearelessconcernedaboutincreasinginflation(downfrom27%to20%)andalittlemoreconcernedaboutincreasingunemployment(upfrom23%to29%).

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Q.Asaresultoftheglobalfinancialcrisis,doyoufeelmoreorlesssecureinyourjob?

27Oct2008 ThisweekMuchmoresecure 3% 1%Alittlemoresecure 2% 2%Aboutthesame 54% 52%Alittlelesssecure 26% 28%Muchlesssecure 12% 6%Don’tknow 4% 10%

52%ofthosepolledagreedthattheyfeel‘aboutthesame’intheirjobasaresultofthefinancialcrisis,thishasfallenslightly(‐2%)sinceweaskedthesamequestioninlateOctober.Manypeoplefeeladegreeofjobinsecurityasaresultofthefinancialcrisis–34%agreetheyfeel‘alittlelesssecure/muchlesssecure’intheirjobasaresultofthefinancialcrisis.Thishasdroppedfrom38%inlateOctoberthatfelt‘alittlelesssecure/muchlesssecure’intheirjobasaresultofthefinancialcrisis.Youngerrespondentsaremorelikelytofeelasenseofinsecurityintheirjobasaresultoftheglobalfinancialcrisis‐42%of18–24yearoldsfeel‘alittlelesssecure/muchlesssecure’intheirjobasaresultofthefinancialcrisis.Highincomeearnersaremorelikelytofeelthatthefinancialcrisishasnotimpactedtheirsenseofjobsecurity–55%earning$1600ormoreperweekindicatedthattheyfeel‘aboutthesame’intheirjobasaresultofthefinancialcrisis.

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FestiveseasonQ.Asaresultoftheglobalfinancialcrisis,somecompaniesarecuttingbacktheirspendingonstaffChristmasfunctions.WhichofthefollowingsituationsappliestoyourworkplaceregardingstaffChristmasfunctions?

MyemployerispayingforastaffChristmasfunctionmuchthesameaspreviousyears

45%

MyemployerusuallypaysforastaffChristmasfunctionbutithasbeencancelledthisyear

6%

MyemployerusuallypaysforastaffChristmasfunctionbutthisyearitwillbesmaller

10%

MyemployerwillbespendingmorethanusualonastaffChristmasfunction

2%

Myemployerdoesn’tusuallypayforastaffChristmasfunction 37%Theglobalfinancialcrisisdoesn’tappeartohavehadmuchimpactonemployerfinancedChristmasfunctions–45%polledindicatedthattheiremployerispayingforastaffChristmasfunctionmuchthesameaspreviousyears.16%indicatedthatasaresultoftheglobalfinancialcrisis,theiremployerfundedworkplacestaffChristmasfunctionhasbeennegativelyaffected–6%indicatedthattheemployerfundedstaffChristmasfunctionhasbeencancelledthisyear,10%indicateditwillbesmaller.Q.Asaresultoftheglobalfinancialcrisis,doyouexpecttobespendingmoreongiftsatChristmas,lessormuchthesame?

Willspendmore 3%Willbespendingless 38%Spendmuchthesame 55%Don’tknow 5%

Theresultssuggestthatduetotheglobalfinancialcrisis,expenditureongiftsatChristmastimewilldecrease–with38%sayingtheywillspendless.MiddletohigherincomeearnersaremorelikelytoreducetheirspendingonChristmasgiftsduetotheglobalfinancialcrisis‐40%ofrespondentsearning$1000‐$1600perweekwillbespendinglessongiftsatChristmasasaresultoftheglobalfinancialcrisis.

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AppendixOne–MethodologyThedatagatheredforthisreportisgatheredfromaweeklyonlineomnibusconductedbyYourSource.YourSourceisanAustraliansocialandmarketresearchcompanyspecializinginrecruitment,fieldresearch,datagatheringanddataanalysis.YourSourceholdsInterviewerQualityControlAustralia(IQCA)accreditation,AssociationMarketandSocialResearchOrganisations(AMSRO)membershipandWorldAssociationofOpinionandMarketingResearchProfessionals(ESOMAR)membership.SeniorYourSourcestaffholdAustralianMarketandSocialResearchSociety(AMSRS)membershipandareboundbyprofessionalcodesofbehavior.EssentialResearchhasbeenutilizingtheYourSourceonlinepaneltoconductresearchonaweekbyweekbasissincethe19thofNovember2007.EachMonday,theteamatEssentialMediaCommunicationsdiscussesissuesthataretopical.FromthereaseriesofquestionsaredevisedtoputtotheAustralianpublic.Somequestionsarerepeatedeachweek(suchaspoliticalpreferenceandsocialperspective),whileothersareuniquetoeachweekandreflectprominentmediaandsocialissuesthatarepresentatthetime.YourSourcehasaselfmanagedconsumeronlinepanelof109500.Themajorityofpanelmembershavebeenrecruitedusingofflinemethodologies,effectivelyrulingoutconcernsassociatedwithonlineselfselection.YourSourcehasvalidationmethodsinplacethatpreventpanelistoveruseandensurememberauthenticity.YourSourcerandomlyselects18+malesandfemales(withtheaimoftargeting50/50males/females)fromitsAustraliawidepanel.Aninvitationissentouttoapproximately7000–8000oftheirpanelmembers.Theresponseratevarieseachweek,butusuallydelivers1000+responses.TheYourSourceonlineomnibusislivefromtheWednesdayofeachweekandclosedonthefollowingTuesday.Incentivesareofferedtoparticipantsintheformofpoints(referredtoas‘Zoints’).EMCusestheStatisticalPackagefortheSocialSciences(SPSS)softwaretoanalysethedata.ThedataisweightedagainstAustralianBureauofStatistics(ABS)data.