A majority of 60.5% of Victorians refer to COVID-19 leadership, communication, keeping people safe and following the health advice for why they approve of Premier Daniel Andrews although there are negatives by 39.5% because too powerful
A special Roy Morgan survey on approval or disapproval with the way Victorian Premier Daniel Andrews is handling his job last week found a clear majority of 60.5% of Victorian electors now approve of the way Premier Andrews is handling his job, although this is down 10.5% points from a year ago in November 2020, while 39.5%, up 10.5% points disapprove of his handling of the job.
Young people give highest marks for Premier Andrews’ handling of his job
The approval of Premier Daniel Andrews’ handling of his job is heavily correlated to age. A large majority of young Victorians aged under 35 (72%) approve of Premier Andrews’ handling of the job compared to only 28% that disapprove.
This strong approval declines progressively with age. Over two-fifths of those aged 35-49 (62.5%) and 50-64 (61%) approve of Andrews’ handling of the job while this drops to only 55% of people aged 65+.
The approval rating for Premier Daniel Andrews amongst the genders match the figures for the two-party preferred voting support with 65% of women approving of Andrews’ handling of his job compared to 55.5% of men.
Analysing by voting intention shows just how widely divergent the views of supporters of the different parties are.
A near unanimous 97% of ALP voters approve of Premier Daniel Andrews’ handling of the job and a large majority of 84% of Greens supporters also approve.
In contrast, only 16% of L-NP supporters approve of Premier Andrews’ handling of the job and this drops to only 1.5% of supporters of Clive Palmer’s United Australia Party (UAP).
Full details on the demographic breakdowns on the question are available here.
This survey also asked a follow-up question, ‘And why do you say that’ to find out why people approve or disapprove of Andrews’ handling of the job.
Approval of Premier Daniel Andrews is based on his handling of the COVID-19 pandemic – the lockdowns, keeping people safe, the roll-out of vaccines
For the 60.5% of Victorians who approve of the way Premier Daniel Andrews is handling his job there are three key themes that emerge with the main support being based on his overall handling of the COVID-19 pandemic that underlies the different strands of approval.
Many respondents cite the actions, such as lockdowns, he’s taken to protect the health and safety of the community, the strong leadership and clear communication of what he is doing, his following of medical advice to make the hard decisions on lockdowns when required and of late the quick roll-out of vaccines.
Disapproval of Daniel Andrews centres on his leadership style, the impact of his COVID-19 policies on people and businesses and concerns the new pandemic bill is ‘dictatorial’
The 39.5% of Victorians that disapprove of Premier Daniel Andrews handling of the job as Premier are quick to cite his leadership style as ‘arrogant’, ’dishonest’, reckless’, ‘dictatorial’ and ‘heavy-handed’.
There are many respondents who say his COVID-19 policies have destroyed businesses and people’s lives while a large cohort raise concerns about mandatory vaccination and the new pandemic legislation and say it is ‘authoritarian’ and a subversion of the Parliamentary process.
Michele Levine, CEO Roy Morgan, says it is the communication and leadership skills displayed by Premier Daniel Andrews that have won praise from the majority of Victorians who approve of the way he’s handling his job:
“Victorians have endured what by many accounts is the world’s longest lockdown of nearly nine months over the last two years and finally emerged from a record sixth lockdown less than a month ago in late October 2021.
“Despite the time spent confined to their homes – twice as long as anywhere else in Australia – Victorians have largely stuck to their political allegiances. Premier Daniel Andrews has the approval of 60.5% of Victorian electors for his handling of the job compared to 39.5% who disapprove.
“Approval for Andrews is down by 10.5% points from the same time a year ago (the last time Roy Morgan surveyed Victorian electors on these questions). However, despite the drop in personal approval there has been little change to the two-party preferred result in Victoria with the ALP 58% (down 0.5% points from November 2020) continuing to hold a clear election-winning lead over the L-NP 42% (up 0.5% points).
“Incredibly for Andrews, 97% of ALP supporters approve of the job he has done as Premier compared to only 16% of L-NP supporters. Unsurprisingly, it is supporters of Clive Palmer’s United Australia Party who are least keen on Andrews – only 1.5% approve of his handling of the job.
“The reasons expressed by those who approve of the job he’s doing credit his overall handling of the pandemic for maintaining their support. They say he has made the unpopular decisions when he had to and he didn’t give into pressure to avoid lockdowns just for an easy way out.
“They have felt secure in the strong leadership he has provided during the pandemic and feel his communication skills have shone via a consistent tone and sticking to the facts. Andrews has been ‘following the health advice’ throughout and this is appreciated by many respondents.
“In contrast, those who disapprove of the job Premier Andrews’ has been doing have a far different view on his leadership and communication skills. They accuse Premier Andrews of being ‘arrogant’, ‘reckless’, ‘dictatorial’ and ‘dishonest’. They say he lies, refuses to answer questions and is too self-righteous to listen to the people of Victoria.
“Those opposed blame the lockdowns imposed by Premier Andrews for putting people out of businesses, leading to increased loneliness and the destruction of people’s livelihoods. They claim he ‘avoids responsibility’ and has left a ‘trail of lies and debt’.
“There are also many in the ‘anti-Andrews’ camp who are staunchly opposed to vaccination mandates and the proposed new pandemic emergency legislation which they say is being brought because he is power-hungry and needs to be in control.
“The two groups have widely divergent views on Premier Andrews and seem firmly entrenched in their beliefs. Although the next Victorian State Election is more than one year away it appears there will be little shifting the views of many Victorians over the next year.
“On present trends these results suggest the Victorian State Government will be easily elected to a third term next November and the task facing new Opposition Leader Matthew Guy appears to be a tough one to avenge his record defeat three years ago in 2018.”
This special Roy Morgan Snap SMS survey was conducted with a Victoria-wide cross-section of 1,357 Victorian electors aged 18+ conducted on Wednesday November 10, 2021.
Question: Verbatim responses for why people approve or disapprove of Premier Andrews
Respondents who were asked whether they approve or disapprove of the way Premier Daniel Andrews is handling his job were then asked: “And why do you say that?”
Approval of Premier Daniel Andrews is based on his handling of the COVID-19 pandemic – the lockdowns, keeping people safe, the roll-out of vaccines
For the 60.5% of Victorians who approve of the way Premier Daniel Andrews is handling his job there are three key themes that emerge with the main support being based on his overall handling of the COVID-19 pandemic that underlies the different strands of approval.
Many respondents cite the actions, such as lockdowns, he’s taken to protect the health and safety of the community, the strong leadership and clear communication of what he is doing, his following of medical advice to make the hard decisions on lockdowns when required and of late the quick roll-out of vaccines.
The main theme revolves around the Premier’s overall handling of COVID-19 and being prepared to make the hard decisions on lockdowns to keep people safe:
“He has provided strong leadership and provided straight communication on what he’s up to.”
“Strong leadership throughout the pandemic.”
“Strong and decisive leadership has under-pinned his pandemic response.”
“Solid and reliable leader and gets things done.”
“Constant and consistent communication all based on facts and science.”
“Good communication and basing decisions on protecting the health of the community.”
“Essentially he has shown leadership over the past two years during the pandemic without obvious support federally. We are not out of the woods but carte blanche controls may not be the solution for future events.”
“He has shown true leadership when the state needed it the most.”
“His leadership throughout the pandemic has been based on making the right choices, not the popular choices, to keep people safe.”
“I feel like our state would be much worse off without his leadership.”
“Andrews has shown leadership throughout the past twenty months.”
A key part of the successful response to the pandemic has been for Premier Andrews to follow the medical advice closely and this is exemplified by the success of the vaccine rollout:
“Premier Andrews gets good health advice and he follows it.”
“He finds things out and actually listens. He acts on scientific advice and is consistent and explains things. He doesn’t lie and has a little humility in complete contrast to the Prime Minister.”
“He has consistently listened to the health advice when handling COVID problems and he does not bad mouth other politicians at the same time.”
“He follows the health advice of those who are more educated in that area than himself.”
“He has stuck by the health advice and hasn’t buckled to any other criticism. I strongly approve.”
“He has made the tough decisions not popular with some but for the betterment of the whole state. He has maintained his support of the health experts’ advice.”
“He has been focused, prepared to accept evidence-based, authentic and genuine health advice.”
“He puts people’s health first, has given constant updates, and is using the best medical advice available to underpin his policies.”
“He has adhered closely to the scientific and health advice.”
“Because he has managed to get over 80% of eligible Victorians vaccinated, he has re-opened without numbers going and up and he has shown leadership throughout, even when unpopular.”
“He has kept us safe and tried his hardest to boost vaccination rates – and also fronted up every day to provide updates whether he has good news or not.”
“Because he has managed not to overwhelm hospitals until the vaccination rate is up.”
“He has handled the vaccination rollout in Victoria well.”
“His rapid response to COVID and mandating of vaccination is important and has saved many lives.”
“I’m very happy with the way he has handled vaccination.”
“He puts people before dollars. He has been direct and clear and his insistence on vaccination is warranted and it has prevented the collapse of our health system.”
“He’s taken a hard-line with anti-vaxxers and locking out the unvaccinated which is good.”
“Vaccine mandates.”
“He’s kept us safe: Rolling out the vaccine, mask wearing, and lockdowns. Puts the PM to shame.”
“He’s managed a poor federal vaccine rollout as best as the Victorian Government could and we now have high vaccination rates to keep Victorians safe during a global pandemic.”
Disapproval of Daniel Andrews centres on his leadership style, the impact of his COVID-19 policies on people and businesses and concerns the new pandemic bill is ‘dictatorial’
The 39.5% of Victorians that disapprove of Premier Daniel Andrews handling of the job as Premier are quick to cite his leadership style as ‘arrogant’, ‘’dishonest’, reckless’, ‘dictatorial’ and ‘heavy-handed’.
There are many respondents who say his COVID-19 policies have destroyed businesses and people’s lives while a large cohort raise concerns about mandatory vaccination and the new pandemic legislation and say it is ‘authoritarian’ and a subversion of the Parliamentary process.
A large share of those who disapprove of Premier Andrews’ handling of the job are against his leadership style calling it ‘arrogant’, ‘dishonest’, ‘reckless’, ‘secretive’, ‘heavy-handed’ and ‘dictatorial’:
“I feel he has become quite arrogant and not in touch with how the real people and battlers live.”
“He’s a condescending and arrogant person and doesn’t come across as caring about the people of Victoria.”
“I think he has made so many mistakes himself then lies about things so he isn’t blamed. He can’t be trusted and I’m very scared of his need to control things and his arrogance.”
“He’s too arrogant, too self-righteous and not listening to the people of Victoria.”
“He is dishonest, arrogant and refuses to answer questions.”
“He’s arrogant and power-hungry and has never had a real job in his life and has no idea about how people with real jobs and businesses have been affected by his stupid lockdowns.”
“I think he’s secretive, arrogant and treats people like they’re fools. He’s also power-hungry and a bully.”
“Complete incompetence and dishonesty. He has no accountability whatsoever.”
“Because it seems his government is dishonest and corrupt.”
“Dishonest.”
“He is very dishonest. He lied about the East-West link, lied about the red shirts and lied about who made the final decision on the hotel quarantine and the branch stacking.”
“He’s secretive, dishonest, incompetent, power-hungry and unaccountable.”
“He’s dishonest and has left a trail of lies and debt.”
“Dishonesty shown from the red shirts on. No trust in him and his failed memory excuses.”
“He’s made reckless decisions.”
“He is secretive and he can never remember anything and hence avoids responsibility.”
“His handling of the pandemic, lack of accountability and transparency, media-posturing, his demeaning way of treating the public, and too heavy-handed in policy decisions.”
“I think he is too heavy handed in some of his decisions.”
“He is a dictator.”
“He’s acting like a dictator.”
“He’s too dictatorial.”
“He appears to run the state as a dictator.”
“He’s a dictator and wants more power.”
“He’s dictatorial and doesn’t consider regional areas.”
“We are supposed to live in Australia which should be free of dictatorships.”
“He is an authoritarian wannabe communist dictator.”
“He is trying to get all the power to himself, like a dictatorship.”
Many other respondents refer directly to the COVID-19 policies, such as lockdowns, that have destroyed businesses, and people’s lives over the last two years:
“There have been too many hard lockdowns and too many inconsistent decisions that appeared to favour colleagues.”
“He has messed up the COVID response this year with too many lockdowns. More freedoms should have been permitted outside instead of these hard lockdowns.”
“His handling of COVID, the lockdowns have been disastrous. The rules have often been confusing and inconsistent.”
“The lockdowns in Victoria went on for far too long.”
“Victoria has had the world’s longest lockdown, the highest number of deaths in Australia and the most businesses broken.”
“His approach to the COVID-19 pandemic has been all wrong. He prioritised policing over public health, particularly the lockdown of public health towers which was a huge error on his part and further compounded by his later disproved claim that it had come at the order of the CHO – it hadn’t.”
“There have been too many total lockdowns. They should have been more Local Government Area specific.”
“Too many lockdowns impacting not only the metro area by also regional zones where there were no cases detected! Blanket state closures have caused many local businesses to close permanently.”
“I though he handled the extended Melbourne lockdown poorly.”
“Excessive lockdowns and now cover-ups of branch stacking.”
“The COVID lockdown mess.”
“These lockdowns have killed so many more people than the virus did. Through suicide, loneliness of the elderly who couldn’t have family visit. Businesses dying and never being able to open again. People losing their jobs and livelihoods.”
The other broad theme to emerge is opposition to the new pandemic legislation as well as mandatory vaccination policies which are variously described as ‘authoritarian’ and ‘dictatorial’:
“The current pandemic legislation and his apparent lack of listening to others.”
“He’s power-mad trying to pass legislation to have permanent pandemic powers even with 0 cases.”
“The new legislation he is trying to get through Parliament.”
“The pandemic legislation is an undemocratic power grab. Australia is not a communist/socialist country.”
“He is running Victoria without the backing of Parliament and is trying to entrench that power with his new legislation and he will not tell us what he is giving cross-benchers to achieve that power.”
“I am concerned about the new pandemic legislation.”
“The vaccine mandates have gone too far and are extremely ostracising.”
“No vaccine mandates.”
“His disregard of the Nuremberg Code in forcing vaccine mandates is an illegal, treasonous act.”
“Mandatory vaccines.”
“Vaccine mandates and the State of Emergency laws.”
“He wants mandatory vaccines and also wants to lockdown the state in future pandemics. Its on or the other.”
“The economy has been ruined and the dictation of mandatory vaccination rules is abhorrent.”
“He fosters division within society via vaccine mandates and creating a two-tier society.”
“Vaccine mandates are unconscionable.”
“The new legislation is appalling. He’s too authoritarian.”
“His authoritarian grab for power in the latest legislation.”
Question:
Do you APPROVE or DISAPPROVE of the way Mr. Daniel Andrews is handling his job as Premier of Victoria? By Gender & Age
| Victorians 18+ | Gender | Age | |||||||||
| Sep 8-9, 2020 |
Sep 28-29, 2020 |
Oct 2020 |
Nov 2020 |
Nov 11, 2021 |
Men | Women | Under 35 | 35-49 | 50-64 | 65+ | |
| % | % | % | % | % | % | % | % | % | % | % | |
| Approve | 70 | 61 | 59 | 71 | 60.5 | 55.5 | 65 | 72 | 62.5 | 61 | 55 |
| Disapprove | 30 | 39 | 41 | 29 | 39.5 | 44.5 | 35 | 28 | 37.5 | 39 | 45 |
| TOTAL | 100 | 100 | 100 | 100 | 100 | 100 | 100 | 100 | 100 | 100 | 100 |
By Melbourne & Country Victoria
| Victorians 18+ |
Melbourne | Country Victoria | |
| % | % | % | |
| Approve | 60.5 | 59.5 | 63 |
| Disapprove | 39.5 | 40.5 | 37 |
| TOTAL | 100 | 100 | 100 |
By State Vote
| Victorian Electors |
Party Vote | |||||||
| L-NP | ALP | Greens | UAP (Palmer) | Justice (Hinch) | Ind/Others | Can’t say | ||
| % | % | % | % | % | % | % | % | |
| Approve | 61 | 16 | 97 | 84 | 1.5 | 37.5 | 32.5 | 62.5 |
| Disapprove | 39 | 84 | 3 | 16 | 98.5 | 62.5 | 67.5 | 37.5 |
| TOTAL | 100 | 100 | 100 | 100 | 100 | 100 | 100 | 100 |
This special Roy Morgan Snap SMS survey was conducted with a Victoria-wide cross-section of 1,357 Victorian electors aged 18+ conducted on Wednesday November 10, 2021.
For further comment or more information contact:
Michele Levine 0411 129 093 or Gary Morgan 0411 129 094 or email askroymorgan@roymorgan.com.
For comments or more information please contact:
Roy Morgan - Enquiries
Office: +61 (03) 9224 5309
askroymorgan@roymorgan.com
Margin of Error
The margin of error to be allowed for in any estimate depends mainly on the number of interviews on which it is based. Margin of error gives indications of the likely range within which estimates would be 95% likely to fall, expressed as the number of percentage points above or below the actual estimate. Allowance for design effects (such as stratification and weighting) should be made as appropriate.
| Sample Size | Percentage Estimate |
| 40% – 60% | 25% or 75% | 10% or 90% | 5% or 95% | |
| 1,000 | ±3.0 | ±2.7 | ±1.9 | ±1.3 |
| 5,000 | ±1.4 | ±1.2 | ±0.8 | ±0.6 |
| 7,500 | ±1.1 | ±1.0 | ±0.7 | ±0.5 |
| 10,000 | ±1.0 | ±0.9 | ±0.6 | ±0.4 |
| 20,000 | ±0.7 | ±0.6 | ±0.4 | ±0.3 |
| 50,000 | ±0.4 | ±0.4 | ±0.3 | ±0.2 |
