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Labor government report card
About the author
Ryan Neelam
Ryan Neelam was Director of the Public Opinion and Foreign Policy Program at the Lowy Institute. He led the flagship annual Lowy Institute Poll, was project director for the Global Diplomacy Index, and wrote about climate diplomacy and multilateral policy.
Almost one year into the Labor government’s term, Australians were asked to give it a score out of ten for its handling of a number of issues. Australians give the government its highest mark for ‘maintaining a strong alliance with the United States’ (7.1 out of 10). This comes at a time when an overwhelming majority of Australians see the alliance as important to Australia’s security. The government is also rated highly for ‘presenting a good image of Australia internationally’ (6.8).
The Labor government receives its lowest mark for ‘managing Australia’s approach to climate change’ (5.3). On this issue, the majority of Australians have seen global warming as a ‘serious and pressing problem’ since 2015. The government receives its next lowest mark for ‘managing Australia’s economy’ (5.7).
In 2021, when the Lowy Institute Poll last asked this question, Australians awarded the then Coalition government its highest marks for ‘managing Australia’s response to Covid-19’ (7.7), followed by ‘maintaining Australia’s national security’ and ‘maintaining a strong alliance with the United States’ (both at 6.8).
In 2021, Australians also gave the then Coalition government its lowest mark for ‘managing Australia’s approach to climate change’ (4.6), and its next lowest mark for ‘managing Australia’s relationship with China’ (5.1).
