Australia's 'Stolen Children': Which Poll Would a Poll-Following Prime Minister Have Followed?

In: International journal of public opinion research, Band 10, Heft 4, S. 349-364

Abstract

A report about indigenous Australian children taken from their families recommended that the government apologize. Three polls (total N = 3,787 respondents) on the question of whether the government should apologize produced three quite different results: one definitively yes, one definitively no, & one that was more evenly divided. After showing why this happened, the results are related to three quite different understandings of what opinion polls should model: opinion expressed through plebiscites; "real" opinion; & opinion based on some sort of deliberation. Also explored is the relationship between what a poll-following Prime Minister might have done & scholarly judgments about quality in public opinion polls. 33 References. Adapted from the source document.