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Australians rate Morrison Government’s bushfire response grossly inadequate

A majority of Australians believe that the Morrison Government has been too slow to act in response to the recent bushfires, and has failed to address climate change as a real threat to the country. The backlash may have an impact on the next federal election, with a growing number of Australians seeking a government that will make climate change a flagstone of party policy.

And while the recent blazes and gradually warming temperatures have dominated the headlines this summer, there remains a sizeable minority of Australians who do not believe that climate change is linked to the severity of the bushfires.

BUSHFIRE LEADERSHIP FOUND WANTING

Over half of all Australians are unsatisfied with the Morrison government’s response to this summer’s bushfires. Overall, nearly 55% of people surveyed rated the government’s efforts as being either poor (18.2%) or very poor (36.3%). Women, in general, were more scathing of the response, with 57.9% of females compared to 49.9% of males rating the response as either poor or very poor.

Negative sentiment focused largely on loss of life, destruction of property and a failure to take steps to prevent bushfires.

“This has been heartbreaking,” a female respondent in the 35-44 year old age bracket said, adding that “Australia’s stance on the matter is disgusting. The Morrison government is ignorant and focuses solely on the economy at the expense of human and animal lives.”

Perhaps unsurprisingly, younger generations are the most likely to be disappointed with the government’s response to the recent bushfires, with 79% of respondents aged 18-24 and 68% of 25-34-year-olds rating the response as being either poor or very poor.

Younger Australians generally laid the blame with conservative governments and politicians. A typical comment from a female respondent in the 25-34 year old age bracket stated: “I believe this is a culmination of long-standing inaction of the government – specifically Liberal governments – in smearing and dismantling climate change policies enacted by Labor such as the carbon tax due to lobbying pressure.”

In a sign that bushfires and climate change could be a millstone for the Morrison government in the years ahead, just 15.9% of respondents labelled the government’s response as good, while 6.9% gave a rating of excellent.

Middle aged and elderly Australians were far more likely to give the government positive ratings, with 20.8% of respondents aged between 45 and 54 and 19.4% aged between 55 and 64 agreeing that the response has been good or very good. Almost half (44.8%) of Australians over 65 were satisfied with the government’s response.

“It’s summertime in Australia. There are always fires, but this year they are some of the worst,” commented a male in the over 65 age bracket.

CLIMATE CHANGE & VOTING INTENTIONS

The government’s response to the bushfire crisis may be a key factor at the next federal election, with many Australians wanting to vote for the party that will address climate change most directly.

Just over a third of respondents polled (39.2%) said they would vote for a different party based on the issue of climate change, while 36.5% said the issue wouldn’t affect them at the ballot box.

The majority of young Australians aged 18-24 (62.1%) said it would impact their vote, compared to more than 57.3% of Australians over 65 years who said that it would not affect their vote.

Just under a quarter of Australians (24.3%) are still unsure whether it will influence their decision, suggesting that many believe addressing climate change is the responsibility of the individual rather than the government.

THE LINK BETWEEN CLIMATE CHANGE AND BUSHFIRES

It may not come as a surprise following the severity of recent events that the majority of respondents (63%) believe there is a link between worsening bushfires and climate change.

The survey suggests men are slightly harder to persuade, with 59.2% believing there is a link, compared to 65.2% of women.

Over a third (37%) of respondents said they do not believe that there is a link between climate change and bushfire severity.

The number of Australians who felt there is a link between climate change and the increasing frequency and severity of bushfires decreased steadily across the age groups. There were 93.1% of young Australians between 18 and 24, 73.2% of those between 25 and 34, 66.5% between 35 and 44, 65.3% 45 and 54 and 60.7% between 55 and 65 said yes there is a link.

Australians over the age of 65 were split 50/50 on whether there is a link between bushfire severity and climate change.

Middle-aged and older Australians were considerably more likely to cite arson, a lack of backburning and the influence of the Greens party as influences around the recent bushfires.

“There are many reasons for the bushfires, such as failure to manage and control fuel in forests, with some fires caused by arson and lightning. It is far too simplistic to blame the recent situation on C0², which is a gas in very low concentrations,” said a male respondent in the 55- 64 age bracket.

HOW ARE AUSSIES ADDRESSING CLIMATE CHANGE?

The majority of Australians concur with the statement that climate change is a more pressing issue to address in the wake of the recent bushfires. In total 59.5% said they either agreed (23.7%) or strongly agreed (35.8%).

Younger Australians overwhelmingly agree, with 89.7% of those between 18 and 24, and 65.5% between 25 and 34 believing it is a pressing matter. Over half of respondents (58.2%) between 55 and 64 and 49.1% of those over the age of 65 felt the same. In every age demographic surveyed, those who strongly agreed formed the largest cohort.

However, almost a quarter (22%) of respondents don’t feel that climate change is a pressing issue despite the severe summer bushfires. This group was largely made up of older Australians, with 34.9% of over 65-year-olds saying they disagree.

When asked to nominate the single most effective way Australians can address climate change, over a third (38.5%) of respondents believe it’s down to the individual to reduce their carbon footprint. Another 36.8% said they would vote for the political party that has the most dedicated climate change policies – with 52% of Australians between 18 and 24 saying this.

Only 5.7% feel that protests (2.2%) and lobbying local MPs (3.5%) are the most effective ways to address climate change. The number of Australians who felt these methods were most effective were overwhelmingly under 25.

Just shy of a fifth (19%) of respondents said they don’t believe climate change is an issue that needs to be addressed at all.

A SLOW BUT PERCEPTIBLE CHANGE IN BEHAVIOUR

The state of the environment is fast becoming the single most pressing concern for Australians and many are acting accordingly. Following the Australian 2019/20 summer bushfires, 39% of respondents said they were changing habits to reduce their carbon footprint.

Of this 39%, the majority said they are doing so by reducing their water usage (87.2%), purchasing environmentally friendly products (81.5%) and using reusable coffee, storage or water containers (64.9%).

Nearly half of these respondents (49.6%) are choosing to reduce their time behind the wheel, while 19.8% are switching to sustainable energy.

The survey revealed that females are more likely to be reducing their carbon footprint, with 40.6% of women saying they are doing so, compared to just 27.8% of men.

DIGGING DEEP FOR BUSHFIRE AFFECTED COMMUNITIES

Many Australians – from the ultra famous to the everyday – have shown support to those affected by the bushfires. This has been reflected in the survey results, with the majority of respondents (64.5%) saying they made a donation to a bushfire charity.

Of that cohort, over half (54%) had donated at least $50, while just over one quarter (26.3%) had donated between $50 and $100.

There were 10.9% who said they donated between $100 and $250, while 7.2% donated between $250 and $500.

The 1.5% who donated $500 or more were more likely to be male, with 2.9% of men and 0.9% of women in this cohort.

EKAS KEY FINDINGS

There is widespread unhappiness with the Morrison government’s handling of the bushfire crisis with 54.5% of people surveyed rating the government’s efforts as being either poor (18.2%) or very poor (36.3%).

Recent events have affected people’s view of climate change. Some 63% of respondents said they believe there is a link between climate change and this summer’s severe bushfires.

Men are more likely to be sceptical about climate change than women, while younger Australians are by far the most concerned about climate change.

Nearly two thirds of surveyed Australians (64.5%) made financial donations to bushfire related charities during the course of summer.

This EKAS bushfires and climate change survey polled 1109 people of whom 417 were male and 692 were female

If you have a survey or research project you would like to conduct, you can visit www.ekas.com.au or contact Jaxon (jaxon@ekas.com.au) or Matt (matt@ekas.com.au) for more information

How the bushfire crisis is bringing out the best in the Australian character

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Summer’s bushfires have devastated homes, communities and wildlife. The scale of these fires is unprecedented and it is having an enormous impact on our nation.

Yet amid the heartbreak are heartwarming stories of people coming together to offer their support and generosity.

From fundraising and donations to wildlife rescue and emergency accommodation, everyday Australians are doing what they can to help one another. The crisis is becoming a celebration of mateship and strength, bringing out the best of our Aussie spirit.

Australian comedian Celeste Barber, is a high profile example, starting a Facebook fundraiser for the NSW Rural Fire Services that snowballed, eventually raising a whopping $51,299,348 within two weeks. It was the largest fundraiser in the history of the platform.

Australian mining magnate, Andrew Forrest and his wife Nicola donated a staggering $70 million, the Paul Ramsay Foundation has pledged $30 million and James Packer has donated $5 million.

The National Australia Bank has donated $5 million, BHP $2 million and Westpac $1.5 million. Coles donated $3 million worth of gift cards plus $1 million in cash while Woolworths donated $1 million worth of goods and $500,000 in cash.

In total, individuals and businesses from Australia and around the world have raised more than $140 million for bushfire victims and Rural Fire Services. EKAS’s latest survey also revealed 54% of everyday Australians had donated at least $50, and just over one quarter (26.3%) had donated between $50 and $100.

It’s also estimated that tens of millions of animals have been killed in the bushfires and animal rescue organisations have received countless donations, with many individuals volunteering to help.

The Wildlife Information Rescue and Education Service (WIRES) have raised over $11 million, while there have been stories of people knitting blankets for kangaroos and rescuing dehydrated koalas.

You can read more about touching stories and acts of kindness here.

EKAS welcomes a new member to the team

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EKAS is excited to welcome Jess Farrow onboard in a role working with our partners to bring innovation and expertise to research projects.

“I am thrilled to be managing the panels and working in the world of innovative digital research and online community development,” Farrow says.

Prior to commencing at EKAS, Jess worked in education before moving into a training and development role with EY Sweeney’s field department. There, she worked across transport studies to inform strategy for user experience and customer journey.

Afterwards, she moved to Melbourne and worked on research projects for five of the eight state and territory tourism bodies, providing insights into the impact of events on the economy and advice on strategy for growth and standards.

Jess recently returned home to Sydney, bringing with her a keen interest in research, understanding respondent drivers, and a passion for user experience.

“Market research breaks the mould of general research – it informs every action and interaction we make, understanding the scope to which it applies, either the same or different, to those around us. It is what both unifies and sets us apart.

“I’m passionate about research because it is so innovative, and is just as much about the respondent as it is about the product, topic or service. It takes a topic and forces us to look at the people around us; real doctors, specialists, nurses, patients, families, businesses, men, women and children.

“We gain insight from these providers of opinion to inform the future of an industry, product or policy. If that isn’t exciting I don’t know what is,” Farrow says.

In the world of research for 2020 and beyond, Jess said she’d like to see communities of opinion leaders become the go-to for people to share thoughts and ideas on a range of fields.

“It would create new opportunities for researchers and clients to access and analyse unprompted consumer priorities and opinion.”

For research panel enquiries, you can contact Jess at jessica@ekas.com.au

Dr No: Why Australia’s medical practitioners are reluctant to pass the baton to pharmacists

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A majority of Australia’s GPs believe some low risk tasks could be taken off their plate by pharmacists to ease their workloads. In the main, however, medical practitioners are sceptical of pharmacists’ abilities to assist with more complex diagnosing and prescribing tasks.

And while GPs assess themselves as less confident in making ethically difficult recommendations or providing potentially addictive prescriptions, their confidence in pharmacists doing the same tasks is considerably lower still.

The GP and Pharmacy Landscape

Most Australian GPs (74%) have a close working relationship with a local pharmacist. The number of GPs with these working relationships declines, however, depending on how much of their practice is bulk-billed.

For Australian medical practices that are 100% bulk-billed, only 61% of GPs claim to have a close working relationship with a local pharmacist. Practices that bulk-bill between 70-100% of the time see the figure rise to 68%, while the mid tier category of bulk-billing (30-70%) has a figure of 82% and the low tier category (0-30%) records a figure of 83%. In short, the more GPs bulk-bill, the less they interact with pharmacists.

A Preponderance of Prescriptions

It might come as a surprise to the average Australian, but a majority of a general practitioners’ consultations involve seeing patients who simply need a prescription filled, rather than diagnosing treatment for an ailment.

EKAS’s December survey revealed that for all the patients GPs treat, 60.1% require a prescription for either Schedule 4 (prescription-only medicine) or Schedule 8 (controlled drug) medications.

Just over a third (36.9%) of GP consults are spent providing advice on a medical problem or ailment for patients, while around 3% specifically require a medical certificate.

GP Confidence in Providing Treatment

The confidence of GPs in fulfilling certain tasks diminishes as the level of expertise required and identified potential risks – such as developing an addiction – escalate.

Treating the common cold (99%), giving general medical advice and recommending and prescribing treatments for low-risk ailments like asthma and heartburn (97%), saw GPs overwhelmingly comfortable.

Moving into terrain where some ethical judgement is required, the survey revealed 80% of GPs were willing to dispense medical certificates and 78% were willing to recommend vaccinations to patients.

A narrow majority of GPs (59%) were willing to recommend and prescribe Schedule 4 medications (which are addictive and liable to cause dependence), while 56% were willing to give general medical advice and prescribe treatments for more complex chronic ailments like diabetes.

Less than half of Aussie GPs are willing to prescribe vaccinations to patients, suggesting that a narrow majority of doctors believe that patients should make up their own minds about getting vaccinated, irrespective of risks.

In matters of Schedule 8 drugs (which include amphetamines, barbiturates and codeine), there was a high degree of caution around these addictive substances. Just 14% of surveyed GPs were willing to recommend and prescribe Schedule 8 medications.

Generic GPs Duties & Pharmacy Assistance

Aussie GPs overwhelmingly feel that some tasks – such as treating the common cold and ailments like hayfever – are a drain on their resources, with 87% saying time spent treating these ailments would be better spent on more technical issues.

However, much like their own concerns about the ability to treat and prescribe, GPs are sceptical about pharmacists’ ability to take the load off them for anything other than the most straightforward tasks.

There were 92% of GPs who felt pharmacists were qualified to treat the common cold, while a further 87% thought that they were able to treat low risk conditions like asthma and heartburn.

Interestingly, 82% of GPs said they were happy with pharmacists providing medical certificates to patients (2% higher than the number of GPs who were happy to issue them). Clearly it’s an occasional, but irksome, task for GPs that they would be willing to outsource.

There were 71% of GPs who said that pharmacists were qualified to recommend vaccinations, 43% who felt they could prescribe vaccinations, 36% who felt they could prescribe Schedule 4 medications, but just 5% who felt they could prescribe Schedule 8 medications.

The sceptical majority

While the consensus of the survey from GPs was that they could be relieved of some tasks by pharmacists, the general mood when assessing pharmacists’ abilities was one of pessimism.

The chief concerns of GPs centre around a lack of clinical training and knowledge on the part of pharmacists, overlooking symptoms of more serious conditions and the opportunity to practice preventive medicine with patients.

Much of this boiled down to context and, in particular, the more in-depth, private relationship formed between GPs and the patients they treat. One GP commented in the survey: “The idea of outsourcing sounds simple, but general practice is complex. A consultation is an opportunity to assess screening needs, mental health and wellbeing and develop rapport. There are no simple consultations in general practice. This does not seem to be understood by many pharmacists.”

Another cited the nature of pharmaceutical business as a red flag: “Not only are pharmacists not trained in diagnosis and treatment, they make (probably most of) their profits from up-selling complementary therapies, so they have a huge conflict of interest.”

But there are advocates of pharmacists playing a larger role. One GP cited an overseas example of progress that is helping to ease the workloads of GPs: “This integration is happening in England currently and it’s working. I wonder why we aren’t we doing it here to lessen the GP burden?”

Summary

The problem for GPs treating minor ailments such as colds, hayfever and heartburn is that the patient is the arbiter of their own healthcare treatment and ultimately decides whether they visit a doctor or not.

The solution appears to lie in public education – encouraging prospective patients to consult with a pharmacist first if they feel they have a mild ailment. Raising awareness in this space, combined with extra training for pharmacists could be just the tonic for Australia’s overworked doctors.

If you have a survey or research project you would like to conduct, you can visit www.ekas.com.au or contact Jaxon (jaxon@ekas.com.au) or Matt (matt@ekas.com.au) for more information

The rise of ecommerce is changing Christmas shopping before our very eyes

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Physical shops remain the main point of purchase for most Australian Christmas shoppers, but it is online stores which are fuelling growth in a muted retail market.

While just 1.5% of respondents to EKAS’s Christmas Retail poll – conducted in early November – said they would do all of their Christmas shopping online, nearly a third (29.9%) said they would not be making any purchases online. However, 32% of respondents said they would make at least half and 70.1% said they would make at least one Christmas related purchase online.

But while bricks and mortar retail stores are the main money-makers for now, it is the ecommerce category which is set to fuel growth into the future for shoppers.

Ecommerce is driving future spend

When asked whether the improvements in ecommerce over the last five years has made respondents increasingly likely to spend more at Christmas, the result was perhaps surprising. All told, a narrow majority of 51.6% said no, compared to 48.4% who said newer technology made them more likely to splash out.

But when we break the numbers down by demographic we see younger respondents are, perhaps unsurprisingly, being enticed to spend more by eCommerce offerings.

There were 70.5% of respondents aged 18-34 who said improved ecommerce was driving their Christmas spend upwards, compared to 60.6% of 35-44 year olds, 56.1% of 45-54 year olds, 32% of 55-64 year olds, and just 23% of 65+ respondents.

Interestingly, 54.5% of men compared to 45.5% of women said they were now more likely to spend more thanks to improved ecommerce options. This is perhaps indicative that males are more reluctant to brave crowded shops during the Christmas period, and are enticed by the idea of hassle-free alternatives.

But the overall message couldn’t be clearer for retailers. An efficient, easy to use digital shopfront with a frictionless checkout will be the key to a merry (and prosperous) Christmas now and in the years ahead.

Savings and Convenience

Saving money and time stand out as the main reasons people are turning to online shopping. All told 80.7% of respondents said they felt it saved them time, while 69.5% cited saving money. A further 47.8% said they appreciated having gifts delivered to their door, with slightly more females (49%) to males (44%) feeling this way.

The desire to avoid busy shops was, perhaps surprisingly, not a huge issue for online shoppers, with only 36.1% of respondents saying it mattered to them. This number skewed higher for most senior demographics though, with 38.5% of over 65s citing it as a factor – a sign that the bustle of Christmas crowds can be off-putting for the older or less mobile.

Just 12% of respondents said online shopping was preferable since they wouldn’t have to deal with in-store salespeople. Curiously only 1.3% of male respondents cited this factor, while 11% of female respondents did so, suggesting perhaps women are targeted more regularly by shop assistants.

Danger for Department Stores?

The travails of modern day department stores – expensive real estate combined with diminishing foot traffic – are well known. This survey’s results suggest they are set for more pain. In total, 62.3% of respondents said they still planned to visit a department store like Myer or David Jones for their Christmas shopping, but over a third of respondents (37.6%) didn’t have such a retailer in their plans.

Interestingly, older demographics are less likely to be planning a department store visit than younger ones. Over 65 year olds voted 54% to 46% in favour of visiting, while the 25-34 year old demographic by comparison saw 68.7% saying they would visit a department store and just 31.3% avoiding them.

Income does play a part in this behaviour. Willingness to shop at a department store rose markedly in line with wealth, with 50.1% of respondents who earned up to $75,000 per annum shopping there, compared to a loftier 76.4% of those who earned over $100,000 per annum.

The trend to spend

Just 16% of respondents overall expected to spend more this year than in previous years (but 25.5% of men felt this way compared to 12.1% women). Those aged 35-44 were the age band that most anticipated spending more (19.7%) – with growing families a likely contributing factor.

Overall, 51.5% of respondents said they’d likely spend roughly the same amount as last year, although 32% expected to spend less. In every demographic surveyed, a rigid 32%-34% said they would spend less, save for the 35-44 year-olds, of whom 29% said they would do so.

Drilling down further, the survey observed that it was the higher income earners who were least likely to be spending less this Christmas. Of those who expected to tighten the purse strings over Christmas this year, 75.8% of them earned $100,000 per annum or less, while just 24.2% of those earning over this amount were looking to cut their festive outlay.

The Rise of Retail Events Drives Earlier Festive Shopping

Overseas pre-Christmas retail events are growing in prominence. In Australia 77.2% of people have heard of Black Friday (the day following US Thanksgiving), 39.7% are familiar with Cyber Monday (the Monday after US Thanksgiving) and just 9.3% have heard of Singles Day (a Chinese retail day that falls on November 11 annually – see related story). However, 20.3% of those surveyed were not familiar with any of these days. Recognition of these events over-indexes with younger demographics.

Another side-effect of the rising popularity of these November events is the encouragement of earlier shopping. There were 28.6% of respondents who now start their Christmas shopping before November, and a further 31.7% who have started shopping before December. Just 24.4% commence their festive purchasing in the first two weeks of December, while those leaving it all until the last 10 days before Christmas number 15.1%.

And while it’s something of a cliche that men are shopping-averse, it’s true that a greater number of men are likely to start their Christmas shopping later than women. Some 46.8% of male respondents said they don’t dust off the debit card until December, compared to 36.5% of women.

Aussies’ Online Favourites

Among online Christmas shoppers it seems the most popular method of bagging a bargain is to bid low. There were 71.1% of respondents who used the well established platform Ebay to shop, far and away the leader among online shopping sites. Its popularity tapered off as demographic age rose, however even it’s lowest uptake was 62.5% for the over 65s.

Coming in next was Amazon with 38.1% of respondents using the site (which has just this year launched into Australia), and interestingly, a much higher proportion of men were users at 55.3% compared to 30.7% of women. Younger demographics made more use of Amazon’s services, with 55-64-year olds the least engaged, with a 28.8% uptake.

Other popular sites included Kogan (27.3%) with 34.2% of males compared to 24.8% of females shopping here, while Booktopia (23.7%) saw the opposite skew with 28.9% of females shopping against just 11.8% of males. What does this mean? Well, it perhaps suggests that women are more likely to be seeking out a relaxing summer read, while men might be keener on a new flatscreen TV or gadget.

Fashion focused retailer The Iconic attracted 18.9% of shoppers with over 22% of all demographics under 55 years making use of their services. However, thanks to its largely youth-oriented marketing, just 10.5% of 55-64s shopped on this site, while a mere of 5.1% of over 65s did so.

EKAS’s Christmas Retail survey polled 356 Australians aged 18 and over.

If you have a social research project or survey you would like to conduct, you can contact Jaxon (jaxon@ekas.com.au) or Matt (matthew@ekas.com.au) to get the ball rolling