Australian Leadership Index: Public support for Federal Government up since election

Public confidence in the Federal Government has sharply increased since the May election, with new data from Swinburne University of Technology’s Australian Leadership Index indicating the Albanese Labor Government has fostered a positive shift in public perception compared with its predecessor.

Analysis from the Index  for the September 2022 quarter indicates perceptions of the new government’s integrity are significantly more favourable than for the previous Morrison Coalition Government.

Public favours integrity

While the Morrison Government scored between 50 and 52 points out of 100 for integrity from October 2021 to the May election, Australian Leadership Index researcher Dr Vlad Demsar said support has increased to 60 points for the Albanese Government in the quarter to September 2022.

“In the final 12 months of its term, the Morrison government was plagued by integrity crises, including the bushfire crisis, sport rorts affair, airport land scandal, sexual assault allegations, car park rorts, robodebt, and a ministerial portfolio scandal, among others,” Dr Demsar said.

“On the other hand, the Albanese government has announced a federal anti-corruption commission, investigations into historical ministerial misconduct, and several other initiatives designed to restore public integrity.”

While the Morrison Government scored between 50 and 52 points out of 100 for integrity from October 2021 to the May election, support has increased to 60 points for the Albanese Government in the quarter to September 2022

Leadership woes

Public perceptions of the Morrison Government’s leadership hit a low of 52 points out of 100 in the quarter to March, plagued by allegations of corruption and mismanagement. By contrast, the Albanese government has scored 61 points in the September quarter.

“We saw the Morrison Government struggle to maintain strong public perceptions of its leadership, after strong criticism on issues like pandemic-related border closures, cooperation with state governments, pandemic and disaster relief response, and the vaccine rollout,” Dr Demsar said.

“This was exacerbated by unclear direction and communication on how decisions were made to benefit Australians in need at a time when they were looking to the government for assurance and decisiveness.”

Public perceptions of the Morrison Government’s leadership hit a low of 52 points out of 100 in the quarter to March, plagued by allegations of corruption and mismanagement. By contrast, the Albanese government has scored 61 points in the September quarter

Room for improvement

Perceptions of the Federal Government’s contribution and competence are also sitting at 60 and 62 points respectively in the September quarter, higher than the Morrison Government’s ratings in each of the three preceding quarters.

“While the new Albanese government is trending positively on leadership, integrity, contribution, and competence metrics, we need to keep in mind that these scores are still hovering around the 61 out of 100 mark, signalling there is lots of room for further improvement,” Dr Demsar said.

About the Index

Re-launched in October 2021, the Australian Leadership Index is the largest, ongoing research study of leadership for the greater good in Australia, created by Swinburne  researchers to improve leadership across all sectors by tracking how Australians view leaders.

The Australian Leadership Index surveys thousands of Australians four times a year and quantifies their perceptions of leaders using four key metrics: integrity, contribution, competence, and leadership. Participants are asked to give a score from zero to 10, and results are converted to a score out of 100.

“Institutions like our governments have a duty to serve the broader public interest and generate public value” Dr Demsar said.

“The Index was created to improve leadership by tracking how Australians view leaders to hold them accountable and ensure they are fulfilling that important duty.”