Roy Morgan Research
September 02, 2020

Melbourne residents now evenly divided on visiting family

Topic: Press Release, Public Opinion, State Poll
Finding No: 8511
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A second Roy Morgan Snap SMS survey on six of Victoria’s Stage 4 restrictions shows more Victorians than a week ago favour relaxing restrictions and Melbourne people are now evenly divided 50:50 on whether Melburnians should be able to visit the homes of immediate family members.

Of all Victorians, 47% (up 4% on a week ago) say Melburnians should be able to visit the homes of immediate family members rising to 50% of residents of Melbourne.

An increasing majority of 57% (up 5%) of older Victorians aged 65+, 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.

Support for other restrictions has reduced on a week ago but still attract majority support across the board.

An overwhelming majority of Victorians, 87% (down 2%), again say mask wearing should be compulsory in Victoria and over two-thirds 68% (down 6%) say schools and day care centres in Melbourne should not be re-opened to everyone.

Now just over three-fifths of Victorians 61% (down 14%) say Melbourne’s restaurants/hotels/ clubs/cafes should not be able to provide table service with proper social distancing – the biggest change in views compared to a week ago.

In addition, 61% (down 11%) say the 8pm-5am curfew in Melbourne should not be ended and 60% (down 11%) say Melburnians’ should not be able to travel more than 5km from their homes (71%).

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 with changes compared to a week ago:

  • 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 40% (up 11%) cf. No 60% (down 11%).

  • 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 39% (up 14%) cf. No 61% (down 14%).

  • Question 3: “At present Melbourne has a curfew from 8pm to 5am, should the curfew end now or not?” Yes 39% (up 11%) cf. No 61% (down 11%).

  • 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 47% (up 4%) cf. No 53% (down 4%).

  • 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 87% (down 2%) cf. No 13% (up 2%).

  • 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 32% (up 8%) cf. No 68% (down 8%).

This special Roy Morgan Snap SMS survey was conducted with a Victoria-wide cross-section of 2,062 Victorians aged 18+ conducted on Tuesday September 1 – Wednesday September 2, 2020.


Melburnians are more likely than Country Victorians to want restrictions relaxed – especially the 5km limit on travel and visiting the home of their immediate family

The ‘call’ to make mask wearing compulsory is favoured more by residents of Melbourne 88% (down 2%) than people in Country Victoria 83% (down 4%) – though both are down on a week ago.

The biggest difference between how Melburnians and Country Victorians view the Stage 4 restrictions relates to travelling more than 5km from one’s home. Nearly half of Melburnians 45% (up 14%) say they should be able to travel more than 5km from their home while only 25% (up 3%) 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. Melburnians are evenly split with 50% (up 5%) say they should be able to visit the homes of their immediate family while a virtually unchanged 37% (down 1%) of Country Victorians say the same about residents of Melbourne – a difference of 13% points (up 6% points).

The survey was conducted four weeks after the introduction of stringent Stage 4 restrictions in Melbourne and as Victorian Premier Daniel Andrews this week convinced Parliament to grant him a 6 month extension to the declared State of Emergency due to expire in mid-September.

A majority of L-NP supporters favour ending three of the Stage 4 restrictions

There is a clear difference in views between supporters of different political parties with majorities of L-NP supporters in favour of ending three of the Stage 4 restrictions while majorities of ALP supporters and Greens supporters support all six restrictions continuing.

  • A majority of 59% of L-NP supporters say Melburnians should now be able to visit the homes of immediate families compared to only 44% of ALP supporters and 40% of Greens supporters.
  • A narrower majority of 54% of L-NP supporters say Melbourne restaurants/hotels/clubs/cafes should now be able to provide table service with proper social distancing compared to only 41% of ALP supporters and 31% of Greens supporters.
  • In addition, a majority of 54% of L-NP supporters say Melbourne residents should now be able to travel more than 5km from their home compared to only 35% of ALP supporters and just 29% of Greens supporters.

Just under half of L-NP supporters (48%) say schools and day care centres should be re-opened to everybody compared to just 20% of ALP supporters and 21% of Greens supporters.

There is less of a political difference between supporters of the major parties when it comes to views on the Melbourne curfew between 8pm-5am and the compulsory wearing of masks in Melbourne.

Nearly half of L-NP supporters (45%), and slightly fewer ALP supporters (42%), say the Melbourne curfew should be ended compared to only 24% of Greens supporters.

However, large majorities of supporters of all major political parties agree mask wearing should be compulsory in Melbourne led by 92% of ALP supporters, 87% of Greens supporters and 82% of L-NP supporters.


Roy Morgan CEO Michele Levine says the mood has begun to shift in Victoria over the last week with smaller majorities of Victorians supporting Stage 4 restrictions as new cases of COVID-19 drop and the stated end of restrictions approaches on Sunday September 13 (end of next week):

Block Quote

“A second Roy Morgan SMS weekly survey of Victorians shows majorities of Victorians support the continuation of Stage 4 restrictions – but support for each of the restrictions is down on a week ago and there are significant and important demographics now opposed to some of the restrictions.

“Residents of Melbourne are now split 50:50 on whether they should now be able to visit the homes of their immediate families. Importantly there are majorities of 59% of L-NP supporters and 57% of those aged 65+ who say Melburnians should now be able visit the homes of their immediate families.

“Melbourne’s hospitality industry will be buoyed that a majority of 54% of L-NP supporters say the city’s restaurants/hotels/clubs/ cafes should now be able to open with proper social distancing although only 41% of ALP supporters and 31% of Greens supporters agree.

“Victorian Premier Daniel Andrews has promised that a road-map for the period after Stage 4 lockdown is set to end on Sunday September 13 will be announced this weekend on September 6.  It is yet to be seen which restrictions will be relaxed and whether Victoria will move back to a Stage 3 ‘lockdown’ or different set of rules as new cases of COVID-19 continue to decline.

“Melburnians have now been under at least a Stage 3 lockdown for nearly two months since July 9 and the improving situation with regards to COVID-19 and the improving weather as we enter spring-time is increasing pressure on the Victorian Government to relax restrictions that have been amongst the harshest in the Western world.

“Based on today’s special Roy Morgan SMS Poll Victorians are most keen to see restrictions around visiting their immediate families, the limited opening of restaurants/hotels/clubs/cafes in Melbourne and the 5km limit on travel from home relaxed.” 

Question 1:

Should Melbourne restaurants/hotels/clubs/cafes now be allowed to provide table service with proper social distancing? By Party Vote (Federal)

Source: Roy Morgan Special Snap SMS Poll of Victorians conducted on Tuesday September 1 to Wednesday September 2, 2020, n=2,062 with over 1,000 respondents each asked 3 questions. Base: Victorians aged 18+.

Question 1:
Should Melbourne restaurants/hotels/clubs/cafes now be allowed to provide table service with proper social distancing? By Gender & Age

Victorians 18+ Gender Age
Aug. 25-26,
2020
Sep. 1-2,
2020
Men Women Under 35 35-49 50-64 65+
  % % % % % % % %
Yes 25 39 39 40 31 37 48 50
No 75 61 61 60 69 63 52 50
TOTAL 100 100 100 100 100 100 100 100

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

Victorians
18+
Melbourne Country Victoria
% % %
Yes 39 41 32
No 61 59 68
TOTAL 100 100 100

Should Melbourne restaurants/hotels/clubs/cafes now be allowed to provide table service with proper social distancing? By Party Vote (Federal)

Party Vote
Victorian
Electors
L-NP ALP Greens Ind/Others Can’t say
% % % % % %
Yes 42 54 41 31 38 30
No 58 46 59 69 62 70
TOTAL 100 100 100 100 100 100

Question 2:
Should Melbourne residents now be free to travel more than 5km from their home? By Gender & Age

Victorians 18+ Gender Age
  Aug. 25-26,
2020
Sep. 1-2,
2020
Men Women Under 35 35-49 50-64 65+
% % % % % % % %
Yes 29 40 45 36 41 35 40 47
No 71 60 55 64 59 65 60 53
TOTAL 100 100 100 100 100 100 100 100

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

Victorians
18+
Melbourne Country Victoria
  % % %
Yes 40 45 25
No 60 55 75
TOTAL 100 100 100

Should Melbourne residents now be free to travel more than 5km from their home? By Party Vote (Federal)

Party Vote
Victorian
Electors
L-NP ALP Greens Ind/Others Can’t say
% % % % % % %
Yes 41 54 35 29 46 32 32
No 59 46 65 71 54 68 68
TOTAL 100 100 100 100 100 100 100

Question 3:
At present Melbourne has a curfew from 8pm to 5am, should the curfew end now or not? By Gender & Age

Victorians 18+ Gender Age
Aug. 25-26,
2020
Sep. 1-2,
2020
Men Women Under 35 35-49 50-64 65+
% % % % % % % %
Yes 28 39 41 36 42 36 36 41
No 72 61 59 64 58 64 64 59
TOTAL 100 100 100 100 100 100 100 100

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

Victorians
18+
Melbourne Country Victoria
% % %
Yes 39 41 31
No 61 59 69
TOTAL 100 100 100

At present Melbourne has a curfew from 8pm to 5am, should the curfew end now or not? By Party Vote (Federal)

Party Vote
Victorian
Electors
L-NP ALP Greens Ind/Others Can’t say
% % % % % % %
Yes 39 45 42 24 40 33 32
No 61 55 58 76 60 67 68
TOTAL 100 100 100 100 100 100 100

Question 4:
Should Melbourne residents now be able to visit the homes of their immediate families? By Party Vote (Federal)

Source: Roy Morgan Special Snap SMS Poll of Victorians conducted on Tuesday September 1 to Wednesday September 2, 2020, n=2,062 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

Victorians 18+ Gender Age
Aug. 25-26,
2020
Sep. 1-2,
2020
Men Women Under 35 35-49 50-64 65+
  % % % % % % % %
Yes 43 47 46 48 41 47 48 57
No 57 53 54 52 59 53 52 43
TOTAL 100 100 100 100 100 100 100 100

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

Victorians
18+
Melbourne Country Victoria
% % %
Yes 47 50 37
No 53 50 63
TOTAL 100 100 100

Should Melbourne residents now be able to visit the homes of their immediate families? By Party Vote (Federal)

Party Vote
Victorian
Electors
L-NP ALP Greens Ind/Others Can’t say
% % % % % %
Yes 49 59 44 40 57 54
No 51 41 56 60 43 46
TOTAL 100 100 100 100 100 100

Question 5:
Should wearing masks in Victoria be compulsory or not? By Gender & Age

Victorians 18+ Gender Age
Aug. 25-26,
2020
Sep. 1-2,
2020
Men Women Under 35 35-49 50-64 65+
  % % % % % % % %
Yes 89 87 85 88 88 79 87 93
No 11 13 15 12 12 21 13 7
TOTAL 100 100 100 100 100 100 100 100

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

Victorians
18+
Melbourne Country Victoria
% % %
Yes 87 88 83
No 13 12 17
TOTAL 100 100 100

Should wearing masks in Victoria be compulsory or not? By Party Vote (Federal)

Party Vote
Victorian
Electors
L-NP ALP Greens Ind/Others Can’t say
% % % % % %
Yes 86 82 92 87 80 74
No 14 18 8 13 20 26
TOTAL 100 100 100 100 100 100

Question 6:

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

Victorians 18+ Gender Age
Aug. 25-26,
2020
Sep. 1-2,
2020
Men Women Under 35 35-49 50-64 65+
% % % % % % % %
Yes 24 32 28 36 26 34 33 43
No 76 68 72 64 74 66 67 57
TOTAL 100 100 100 100 100 100 100 100

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

Victorians
18+
Melbourne Country Victoria
% % %
Yes 32 34 26
No 68 66 74
TOTAL 100 100 100

Should schools and day care centres in Melbourne be re-opened to everybody? By Party Vote (Federal)

Party Vote
Victorian
Electors
L-NP ALP Greens Ind/Others Can’t say
% % % % % %
Yes 31 48 20 21 37 39
No 69 52 80 79 63 61
TOTAL 100 100 100 100 100 100

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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

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