Victorians in strong support of most Stage 4 restrictions

A special Roy Morgan Snap SMS survey on six of Victoria’s Stage 4 restrictions showed large majorities of Victorians in support of five of the six restrictions while views are split more evenly on whether Melburnians should be able to visit the homes of immediate family members.

Of all Victorians, 43% say Melburnians should be able to visit the homes of immediate family members which rises to 45% of residents of Melbourne and 47% of younger Victorians aged under 35.

A majority of 52% of older Victorians aged 65+, who are prevented by this restriction from seeing their grandchildren say Melburnians should be able to visit the homes of their immediate family. This is despite being the age group at the greatest risk during the pandemic.

The lowest support for allowing visits to the homes of immediate family members is among Victorians aged 35-49 (33%) who are the age group most likely to be living in the same house as their children already.

For other restrictions an overwhelming majority of Victorians say mask wearing should be compulsory in Victoria (89%), schools and day care centres in Melbourne should not be open to everyone (76%), Melbourne’s restaurants/hotels/ clubs/cafes should not be able to provide table service with proper social distancing (75%), the 8pm-5am curfew in Melbourne should not be ended (72%) and Melburnians’ should not be able to travel more than 5km from their homes (71%).

This special Roy Morgan Snap SMS survey was conducted with a Victoria-wide cross-section of 2,110 Victorians aged 18+ conducted on Tuesday August 25 – Wednesday August 26, 2020.

Views in Melbourne and Country Victoria are similar but Melburnians are more likely to want the ability to travel more than 5km from their home and visit the home of their immediate family

The ‘call’ to make mask wearing compulsory is consistent across both residents of Melbourne (90%) and people in Country Victoria (87%).

The biggest difference between how Melburnians and Country Victorians view the Stage 4 restrictions relate to travelling more than 5km from one’s home. Just under a third of Melburnians (31%) say they should be able to travel more than 5km from their home while only 22% of Country Victorians say the same about residents of Melbourne.

The second largest difference relates to being allowed to visit the homes of one’s immediate family. Nearly half of Melburnians (45%) say they should be able to visit the homes of their immediate family while under two-fifths of Country Victorians (38%) say the same about residents of Melbourne – a difference of 7% points.

The survey was conducted three weeks after the introduction of stringent Stage 4 restrictions in Melbourne and as Victorian Premier Daniel Andrews sought to convince Parliament to grant him a 12 month extension to the declared State of Emergency due to expire in mid-September.

People surveyed in Victoria were each asked three of the following six questions to determine their attitudes towards the current Victorian Government Stage 4 directives:

• Question 1: “Melbourne residents are currently restricted from travelling more than 5km from their homes for exercise or buying essential items such as food. Should Melbourne residents now be free to travel more than 5km from their home?” Yes (29%) cf. No (71%).
  
• Question 2: “Melbourne’s restaurants/hotels/clubs/cafes are only allowed to offer take-away or food delivery services. Should Melbourne’s restaurants/hotels/clubs/cafes now be allowed to provide table service with proper social distancing?” Yes (25%) cf. No (75%).
  
• Question 3: “At present Melbourne has a curfew from 8pm to 5am, should the curfew end now or not?” Yes (28%) cf. No (72%).
  
• Question 4: “Melbourne residents are currently banned from visiting the homes of immediate family members with the exception of delivering care or essential services. Should Melbourne residents now be able to visit the homes of their immediate families?” Yes (43%) cf. No (57%).
  
• Question 5: “Every person living in Victoria must wear a face covering such as a mask when leaving home. Should wearing masks be compulsory in Victoria or not?” Yes (89%) cf. No (11%).
  
• Question 6: “Only permitted workers are allowed to send their children to day care centres and schools. Should schools and day care centres in Melbourne be re-opened to everyone?” Yes (24%) cf. No (76%).

Only 28% want an end to the curfew but men more likely to want it to end than women

Just over a quarter of Victorians (28%) say the Melbourne curfew between the hours of 8pm and 5am should end but it is this question that provides the biggest gap between the genders.

Around a third of Victorian men (32%) want the curfew to end now compared to only 24% of women.

Differences in attitude by age brought out by views on day care centres and schools

The largest spread between the different age groups relates to views on whether day care and schools should be re-opened for everybody in addition to children of permitted workers only.

Only 18% of Victorians aged under 35 say day care centres and schools should be re-opened to everybody in Victoria which rises to 26% of 35-49 year olds, 25% of 50-64 year olds and well over a third of Victorians aged over 65 (37%) – more than double the rate of young Victorians.

Roy Morgan CEO Michele Levine says large majorities of Victorians agree with the Stage 4 restrictions introduced in Melbourne to halt the spread of COVID19:

Question 1:

Should Melbourne restaurants/hotels/clubs/cafes now be allowed to provide table service with proper social distancing? By Gender & Age

Source: Roy Morgan Special Snap SMS Poll of Victorians conducted on Tuesday August 25 to Wednesday August 26, 2020, n=2,110 with over 1,000 respondents each asked 3 questions. Base: Victorians aged 18+.

Should Melbourne restaurants/hotels/clubs/cafes now be allowed to provide table service with proper social distancing? By Gender & Age

Should Melbourne restaurants/hotels/clubs/cafes now be allowed to provide table service with proper social distancing? By Melbourne & Country Victoria

Question 2:

Should Melbourne residents now be free to travel more than 5km from their home? By Gender & Age

Should Melbourne residents now be free to travel more than 5km from their home? By Melbourne & Country Victoria

Question 3:

At present Melbourne has a curfew from 8pm to 5am, should the curfew end now or not? By Gender & Age

At present Melbourne has a curfew from 8pm to 5am, should the curfew end now or not? By Melbourne & Country Victoria

Question 4:

Should Melbourne residents now be able to visit the homes of their immediate families? By City/Country & Age

Source: Roy Morgan Special Snap SMS Poll of Victorians conducted on Tuesday August 25 to Wednesday August 26, 2020, n=2,110 with over 1,000 respondents each asked 3 questions. Base: Victorians aged 18+.

Should Melbourne residents now be able to visit the homes of their immediate families? By Gender & Age

Should Melbourne residents now be able to visit the homes of their immediate families? By Melbourne & Country Victoria

Question 5:

Should wearing masks in Victoria be compulsory or not? By Gender & Age

Should wearing masks in Victoria be compulsory or not? By Melbourne & Country Victoria

Question 6:

Should schools and day care centres in Melbourne be re-opened to everybody? By Gender & Age

Should schools and day care centres in Melbourne be re-opened to everybody? By Melbourne & Country Victoria