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Most Queensland voters across the political spectrum believe the Crisafulli government has not gone far enough on gun reforms in the wake of the Bondi and Wieambilla shootings.
Meanwhile, the LNP’s push to criminalise contested Palestinian protest phrases has largely split voters, but the largest portion think the government has gone too far policing speech.
The details come as a two-month polling snapshot revealed a fall in primary vote support for the LNP, to its lowest level since Resolve Strategic surveys for Brisbane Times began in late 2022.
First flagged after the December attack at a Jewish Hanukkah event in Bondi, which left 15 dead, and the Wieambilla inquest recommendations delivered a month earlier, a combined bill was introduced to parliament in February.
Forty-six per cent said it had not gone far enough on gun reform, while 31 per cent said the response was about right, and 13 per cent said it went too far.
This proportion was largely replicated across LNP and Labor voters, along with those who said they would not vote for a major party.
On the government’s approach to banning phrases that it and the Queensland Jewish Board of Deputies declared to be antisemitic, voters were more divided.
Thirty-two per cent believed the government had gone too far, while 17 per cent said it got the balance right, and 26 per cent said it had not gone far enough. Twenty-five per cent were unsure.
LNP voters leant towards the government not having gone far enough (29 per cent) or believing the right balance had been struck (26 per cent), however 22 per cent thought it had gone too far.
Among Labor voters, more believed the government had both gone too far (34 per cent) or not far enough (31 per cent), with only 21 per cent saying the balance was right.
Voters who indicated they would support a minor party or candidate had the largest proportion who either viewed the government response as overreach (37 per cent) or were unsure (31 per cent).
Resolve director Jim Reed said while voter focus on responses to extremism and violence after Bondi had fallen amid concern about fuel prices and petty crime, this did not mean governments would not face ongoing risks.
“Most people seem comfortable with getting tougher on gun ownership, but governments do need to be careful when policing speech,” Reed said.
“One man’s hate speech is another man’s freedom of expression, and the balance has to be right.”
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