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A majority of Australians (54%) think Prime Minister John Howard did not act ethically over AWB Ltd.’s wheat to Iraq deals a special telephone Morgan Poll finds. Similar proportions of Australians aged 14 and over think Foreign Minister Alexander Downer (56%) and Deputy Prime Minister and Trade Minister Mark Vaile (55%) did not act ethically. This special telephone Morgan Poll was

conducted on April 19/20 in the week following the appearance of Mr Howard, Mr Downer and Mr Vaile at the Cole Royal Commission into AWB Ltd.’s grain dealings with Iraq.

Now four-in-five (80% up 3% since late February) Australians are aware of the Royal Commission and only 20% (down 3%) are unaware of the Royal Commission. When it comes to perceptions of the Federal Government as a whole 63% (up 6% from 57%) think it acted ethically on the issue while 18% (up 1%) think it did not act ethically.

Almost two-thirds (65% up 6%) of Australians think AWB Ltd. did not act ethically in their negotiations to sell wheat to Iraq, 12% (unchanged) think it acted ethically and 23% (down 6%) couldn’t say.

Of those Australians who are aware of the Royal Commission, 58% think Mr Howard did not act ethically, 63% think Mr Downer did not act ethically and 63% think Mr Vaile did not act ethically. Almost three-quarters (74%) of Australians who had heard of the Royal Commission think AWB acted unethically and 68% think the Federal Government acted unethically.

Gary Morgan says:

“Clear majorities of Australians think that Prime Minister Howard (54%), Foreign Minister Downer (56%) and Trade Minister Vaile (55%) did not act ethically over the AWB affair. These senior Government Ministers all gave evidence to the Cole Royal Commission last week

Furthermore 65% of Australians (up 6% since late February) think AWB Ltd.’s actions were not ethical and 63% (up 6%)  those of the Government.

 The Prime Minister and his Ministers seem unconcerned about the fallout from the AWB Royal Commission, the “sleeper” however is the possibility that Commissioner Cole may recommend criminal charges be laid.”

This special telephone Morgan Poll was conducted on the evenings of April 19-20, 2006, with an Australia-wide sample of 658 respondents aged 14 and over.

1. - Are You Aware Of The Royal Commission Into The AWB’s Dealings With The Iraqi Government?

Respondents were first asked:  "Next about the Royal Commission into AWB Ltd.’s (formerly the Australian Wheat Board) dealings with the Iraqi Government under the United Nations oil-for-food program.  Are you aware of the Royal commission or not?”

Total All People 14+					Analysis by Sex and Age
	Feb 1-2 2006	Feb 8-9, 2006	Feb 22-23, 2006	Apr 19-20, 2006	Men	Women	14-17#	18-24	25-34	35-49	50+
	%	%	%	%	%	%	%	%	%	%	%
Yes, aware	68	75	77	80	83	77	38	47	76	91	93
No, not aware	32	25	23	20	17	23	62	53	24	9	7
Total	100	100	100	100	100	100	100	100	100	100	100

# Sample sizes less than 50 should be treated with caution

Total All People 14+					Analysis by Region and State
	Feb 1-2 2006	Feb 8-9, 2006	Feb 22-23,  2006	Apr 19-20, 2006	Capital Cities	Country Areas	NSW	Vic	Qld	SA/NT	WA	Tas#
	%	%	%	%	%	%	%	%	%	%	%	%
Yes, aware	68	75	77	80	82	77	81	75	84	74	84	85
No, not aware	32	25	23	20	18	23	19	25	16	26	16	15
Total	100	100	100	100	100	100	100	100	100	100	100	100

 # Sample sizes less than 50 should be treated with caution

Total All People 14+					Analysis by Federal Voting Intention
	Feb 1-2 2006	Feb 8-9  2006	Feb 22-23  2006	Apr 19-20  2006	L-NP	ALP	Aust. Dems#	The Greens	One Nation#	Family First#	Ind/ Other#	No Answer
	%	%	%	%	%	%	%	%	%	%	%	%
Yes, aware	68	75	77	80	86	84	93	87	49	75	88	53
No, not aware	32	25	23	20	14	16	7	13	51	25	12	47
Total	100	100	100	100	100	100	100	100	100	100	100	100

# Sample sizes less than 50 should be treated with caution

2. - Did AWB Ltd. Act Ethically In Their Negotiations To Sell Wheat To The Iraqi Government?

Respondents were then asked:  " In your opinion, did AWB Ltd. act ethically in their negotiations to sell wheat to the Iraqi Government, or not?”

Total All People 14+					Analysis by Sex and Age
	Feb 1-2 2006	Feb 8-9, 2006	Feb 22-23, 2006	Apr 19-20, 2006	Men	Women	14-17#	18-24	25-34	35-49	50+
	%	%	%	%	%	%	%	%	%	%	%
Yes acted ethically	12	13	12	12	15	9	12	9	8	14	12
No, did not act ethically	50	53	59	65	68	61	35	54	65	70	70
Can’t say	38	34	29	23	17	30	53	37	27	16	18
Total	100	100	100	100	100	100	100	100	100	100	100

# Sample sizes less than 50 should be treated with caution

Total All People 14+					Analysis by Region and State
	Feb 1-2 2006	Feb 8-9, 2006	Feb 22-23, 2006	Apr 19-20, 2006	Capital Cities	Country Areas	NSW	Vic	Qld	SA/NT	WA	Tas#
	%	%	%	%	%	%	%	%	%	%	%	%
Yes acted ethically	12	13	12	12	10	14	12	14	8	14	12	4
No, did not act ethically	50	53	59	65	67	61	68	60	63	58	70	78
Can’t say	38	34	29	23	23	25	20	26	29	28	18	18
Total	100	100	100	100	100	100	100	100	100	100	100	100

# Sample sizes less than 50 should be treated with caution

Total All People 14+					Analysis by Federal Voting Intention
	Feb 1-2 2006	Feb 8-9, 2006	Feb 22-23, 2006	Apr 19-20, 2006	L-NP	ALP	Aust. Dems#	The Greens	One Nation#	Family First#	Ind/ Other#	No Answer
	%	%	%	%	%	%	%	%	%	%	%	%
Yes acted ethically	12	13	12	12	19	6	7	8	-	-	17	11
No, did not act ethically	50	53	59	65	58	74	93	84	90	76	67	41
Can’t say	38	34	29	23	23	20	-	8	10	24	16	48
Total	100	100	100	100	100	100	100	100	100	100	100	100

# Sample sizes less than 50 should be treated with caution

	Total All People 14+			Analysis by Awareness Of The Royal Commission
	Feb 8-9, 2006	Feb 22-23, 2006	Apr 19-20, 2006	Aware	Not Aware
	%	%	%	%	%
Yes acted ethically	13	12	12	12	9
No, did not act ethically	53	59	65	74	29
Can’t say	34	29	23	14	62
Total	100	100	100	100	100

3. - Did The Federal Government Act Ethically On This Issue Or Not?

Respondents were then asked:  “Recently there has been discussion about whether or how much the Federal Government knew of AWB Ltd. paying bribes to the Iraqi Government in their negotiations to sell wheat.  From what you know or have heard, do you think the Federal Government acted ethically on this issue, or not?”

	Total All People 14+			Analysis by Sex and Age
	Feb 8-9, 2006	Feb 22-23, 2006	Apr 19-20, 2006	Men	Women	14-17#	18-24	25-34	35-49	50+
	%	%	%	%	%	%	%	%	%	%
Yes acted ethically	16	17	18	23	14	12	9	17	19	22
No, did not act ethically	56	57	63	61	65	49	64	63	69	61
Can’t say	28	26	19	16	21	39	27	20	12	17
Total	100	100	100	100	100	100	100	100	100	100

# Sample sizes less than 50 should be treated with caution

	Total All People 14+			Analysis by Region and State
	Feb 8-9, 2006	Feb 22-23, 2006	Apr 19-20, 2006	Capital Cities	Country Areas	NSW	Vic	Qld	SA/NT	WA	Tas#
	%	%	%	%	%	%	%	%	%	%	%
Yes acted ethically	16	17	18	17	21	19	17	15	15	21	32
No, did not act ethically	56	57	63	65	60	64	62	63	66	65	48
Can’t say	28	26	19	18	19	17	21	22	19	14	20
Total	100	100	100	100	100	100	100	100	100	100	100

 # Sample sizes less than 50 should be treated with caution

	Total All People 14+			Analysis by Federal Voting Intention
	Feb 8-9, 2006	Feb 22-23, 2006	Apr 19-20, 2006	L-NP	ALP	Aust. Dems#	The Greens#	One Nation#	Family First#	Ind/ Other#	No Answer
	%	%	%	%	%	%	%	%	%	%	%
Yes acted ethically	16	17	18	37	6	-	7	16	12	13	14
No, did not act ethically	56	57	63	44	81	93	80	75	76	72	47
Can’t say	28	26	19	19	13	7	13	9	12	15	39
Total	100	100	100	100	100	100	100	100	100	100	100

# Sample sizes less than 50 should be treated with caution

	Total All People Aged 14+			Analysis by Awareness Of The Royal Commission
	Feb 8-9, 2006	Feb 22-23, 2006	Apr 19-20, 2006	Aware	Not Aware
	%	%	%	%	%
Yes acted ethically	16	17	18	20	13
No, did not act ethically	56	57	63	68	43
Can’t say	28	26	19	12	44
Total	100	100	100	100	100

4. - Did Prime Minister John Howard Act Ethically On This Issue Or Not?

Respondents were then asked:  “From what you know or have heard, do you think that Prime Minister, John Howard, acted ethically on this issue, or not?”

	Total All People 14+	Analysis by Sex and Age
	Apr 19-20, 2006	Men	Women	14-17#	18-24	25-34	35-49	50+
	%	%	%	%	%	%	%	%
Yes acted ethically	29	33	26	28	23	25	31	32
No, did not act ethically	54	54	53	39	58	51	56	54
Can’t say	17	13	21	33	19	24	13	14
Total	100	100	100	100	100	100	100	100

# Sample sizes less than 50 should be treated with caution

	Total All People 14+	Analysis by Region and State
	Apr 19-20, 2006	Capital Cities	Country Areas	NSW	Vic	Qld	SA/NT	WA	Tas#
	%	%	%	%	%	%	%	%	%
Yes acted ethically	29	28	32	29	27	32	24	32	37
No, did not act ethically	54	56	50	57	54	44	58	59	42
Can’t say	17	16	18	14	19	24	18	9	21
Total	100	100	100	100	100	100	100	100	100

 # Sample sizes less than 50 should be treated with caution

	Total All People 14+	Analysis by Federal Voting Intention
	Apr 19-20, 2006	L-NP	ALP	Aust. Dems#	The Greens#	One Nation#	Family First#	Ind/ Other#	No Answer
	%	%	%	%	%	%	%	%	%
Yes acted ethically	29	56	11	13	9	16	12	25	27
No, did not act ethically	54	29	73	73	82	75	76	71	38
Can’t say	17	15	16	14	9	9	12	4	35
Total	100	100	100	100	100	100	100	100	100

# Sample sizes less than 50 should be treated with caution

	Total All People Aged 14+	Analysis by Awareness Of The Royal Commission
	Apr 19-20, 2006	Aware	Not Aware
	%	%	%
Yes acted ethically	29	31	23
No, did not act ethically	54	58	37
Can’t say	17	11	40
Total	100	100	100

5. - Did Foreign Minister Alexander Downer Act Ethically On This Issue Or Not?

Respondents were then asked:  “From what you know or have heard, do you think that Foreign Minister, Alexander Downer, acted ethically on this issue, or not?”

	Total All People 14+	Analysis by Sex and Age
	Apr 19-20, 2006	Men	Women	14-17#	18-24	25-34	35-49	50+
	%	%	%	%	%	%	%	%
Yes acted ethically	23	30	16	20	16	20	22	27
No, did not act ethically	56	54	59	33	52	54	62	60
Can’t say	21	16	25	47	32	26	16	13
Total	100	100	100	100	100	100	100	100

# Sample sizes less than 50 should be treated with caution

	Total All People 14+	Analysis by Region and State
	Apr 19-20, 2006	Capital Cities	Country Areas	NSW	Vic	Qld	SA/NT	WA	Tas#
	%	%	%	%	%	%	%	%	%
Yes acted ethically	23	21	26	22	21	24	22	27	22
No, did not act ethically	56	59	52	59	55	53	56	61	54
Can’t say	21	20	22	19	24	23	22	12	24
Total	100	100	100	100	100	100	100	100	100

 # Sample sizes less than 50 should be treated with caution

	Total All People 14+	Analysis by Federal Voting Intention
	Apr 19-20, 2006	L-NP	ALP	Aust. Dems#	The Greens	One Nation#	Family First#	Ind/ Other#	No Answer
	%	%	%	%	%	%	%	%	%
Yes acted ethically	23	43	10	-	11	33	12	25	18
No, did not act ethically	56	37	75	93	77	57	76	71	35
Can’t say	21	20	15	7	12	10	12	4	47
Total	100	100	100	100	100	100	100	100	100

# Sample sizes less than 50 should be treated with caution

	Total All People 14+	Analysis by Awareness Of The Royal Commission
	Apr 19-20, 2006	Aware	Not Aware
	%	%	%
Yes acted ethically	23	25	14
No, did not act ethically	56	63	33
Can’t say	21	12	53
Total	100	100	100

6. - Did Trade Minister Mark Vaile Act Ethically On This Issue Or Not?

Respondents were then asked:  “From what you know or have heard, do you think that Trade Minister, Mark Vaile, acted ethically on this issue, or not?”

	Total All People 14+	Analysis by Sex and Age
	Apr 19-20, 2006	Men	Women	14-17#	18-24	25-34	35-49	50+
	%	%	%	%	%	%	%	%
Yes acted ethically	18	23	13	16	12	17	15	22
No, did not act ethically	55	53	57	33	42	48	63	60
Can’t say	27	24	30	51	46	35	22	18
Total	100	100	100	100	100	100	100	100

# Sample sizes less than 50 should be treated with caution

	Total All People 14+	Analysis by Region and State
	Apr 19-20, 2006	Capital Cities	Country Areas	NSW	Vic	Qld	SA/NT	WA	Tas#
	%	%	%	%	%	%	%	%	%
Yes acted ethically	18	16	20	21	16	16	16	16	18
No, did not act ethically	55	58	50	56	55	49	54	64	47
Can’t say	27	26	30	23	29	25	30	20	35
Total	100	100	100	100	100	100	100	100	100

 # Sample sizes less than 50 should be treated with caution

	Total All People 14+	Analysis by Federal Voting Intention
	Apr 19-20, 2006	L-NP	ALP	Aust. Dems#	The Greens#	One Nation#	Family First#	Ind/ Other#	No Answer
	%	%	%	%	%	%	%	%	%
Yes acted ethically	18	36	5	-	6	17	25	16	14
No, did not act ethically	55	39	71	80	75	74	38	68	34
Can’t say	27	25	24	20	19	9	37	16	52
Total	100	100	100	100	100	100	100	100	100

# Sample sizes less than 50 should be treated with caution

	Total All People 14+	Analysis by Awareness Of The Royal Commission
	Apr 19-20, 2006	Aware	Not Aware
	%	%	%
Yes acted ethically	18	20	9
No, did not act ethically	55	63	25
Can’t say	27	17	66
Total	100	100	100

The tables in this release show Australians’ attitudes towards AWB Ltd’s dealings with the Iraqi Government under the United Nations oil-for-food program, analysed by Sex, Age, Region, State and Federal Voting Intention. The complete analysis of results by demographics and regions is available on subscription.

The Morgan Poll is conducted by the ONLY Australian and New Zealand member of
the Gallup International Association.

No Other public opinion poll taken in Australia has this qualification.

© 2010 Roy Morgan Research. All Rights Reserved
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