Confidence in Government plunges to new low during COVID-19

Prime Minister Scott Morrison. Image: Tracey Nearmy/ANU - Satisfaction with the direction of the country and confidence in the Federal Government has plummeted, new analysis from The Australian National University (ANU) has found. The study, examining the views of more than 3,400 adults, found that in January 2022 a little more than three-in-10 Australians (34.5 per cent) had a great deal or quite a lot of confidence in the Federal Government. "This is down from a peak of 60.6 per cent in May 2020 and lower than in October of last year," study co-author Professor Nicholas Biddle said. "In fact, this is only slightly above the level of confidence prior to the pandemic and during the Black Summer bushfires, when only 27.3 per cent of Australians had confidence in the Federal Government. "What's also interesting is that between October 2021 and January 2022 there was a large decline in confidence in hospitals and the health system, the largest we have seen during the pandemic. "Although people are still quite confident in the health system, clearly the handling of the pandemic and the ongoing wave of Omicron infections is starting to take a real toll on how all major institutions are viewed by Australians." The study also showed that between October 2021 and January 2022 there was a large decline of satisfaction with the direction of the country with 63.6 per cent of Australians satisfied or very satisfied.