National residents

Summary

National residents were defined as resident Australians living outside of the Reef region.

A nationally representative online survey of more than 2,002 randomly selected Australian residents was conducted in 2013 (1,002 individuals in March/April 2013, and 1,000 in September 2013).

1,028 national residents were surveyed in September 2017 via an online research panel provided by an external marketing company (Pollinate). Pollinate has access to a geographically and demographically representative sample of Australians who are prepared to complete surveys in exchange for online credit points that could be converted into gifts or goods.

The number of questions that were posed to this group however is considerably reduced from the main face-to-face coastal resident survey. Only 7-8 key questions are included in the National survey, and these are yet to be reviewed (and are not included in this report).

 

Key 2013 research findings

This project finds that Australians are overwhelmingly concerned about and connected to the GBR. We find the GBR to be Australia’s most inspiring natural or cultural icon. Further, a strong majority of respondents want to visit the GBR in the future (~50%) or have done so already (~40%). Respondents believe climate change and pollution are the biggest threats to the GBR, followed by marine debris, agricultural run-off and shipping. Most people are proud the GBR is listed as a World Heritage Site and they also feel a collective responsibility to protect it. Respondents believe the GBR is part of their Australian identity and they are concerned about the impacts of climate change. Approximately half of respondents are confident that the GBR is well managed and a minority feel strongly optimistic about the future of the GBR.

 

Click here to [ddownload id=”176″] the 1 page factsheet “SELTMP 2013: A national survey about the Great Barrier Reef”

Click here to [ddownload id=”177″] the 2013 technical report