W01 Parliament

NCA ANNUAL REPORTS

Key Study Findings

•  74.4% of respondents had visited Canberra previously, with 46.2% in the past five years and 53.8% over five years age.
• 70.6% of respondents’ first impressions/images of Canberra were associated with politicians/parliament followed by national capital/ACT, similar to 2002.
• Weather was rated in the top five first impressions by 22-24% of respondents and Lake Burley Griffin was mentioned by 19-22% of respondents.
• The majority of respondents identified parliament house and the Australian War Memorial as the attraction or event of most significance in Canberra. 11.2% of respondents listed Anzac Day.
•  Respondents strongly agreed that Canberra has a political focus (64.6%), is conservative (46.1%) and clean (30%). Furthermore, 61.7% note that Canberra is located in an appealing natural setting (61.7%) with first class educational and sporting facilities (51.3% and 47.5% respectively).
•  Approximately 56% of respondents agreed that Canberra reflects national values, while 72.3% agreed or strongly agreed that Canberra reflects Australia’s defence forces, democracy (69.9%) and Australian history (66.9%).
• Responses related to the future aspirations of the national capital were highly supportive. A total of 91.6% agreed or strongly agreed that the national capital should be something Australian’s are proud of. 83.7% agreed or strongly agreed that the national capital should symbolise Australian’s ideals and aspirations. A total of 58.5% of respondents agreed or strongly agreed that the national capital should be a place for important national and international events.
• 44.5% felt that the media portrayal of Canberra was neutral, 24.9% stated it was positive and 20.3% negative. of those that perceived it as negative, only one fifth perceived that this was a fair portrayal.
• 62.3% of respondents were somewhat interested in politics compared with those that were very interested (25.8%) and not at all interested in politics (11.9%).
• 86.7% felt that it is appropriate for Canberra to mark its centenary, and 50% indicated they would like to share in the celebrations in some way indicating high interest and support for Centenary Celebrations.
•  A total of 19.3% of the sample watched the Australia Day Live concert telecast, 79.4% did not and 1.3% were uncertain about whether they had viewed the event.
• Differences were found between previous visitation and respondent perceptions of the national capital. Similar to the 2002 study, those that had visited (especially in the last five years) were more positive towards the national capital with respect to city images and the values and aspirations of the national capital.
• Compared to the 2002 study, there were seven perception statements that were no longer influenced by previous visitation. Six new perception statements had changed related to visitation, affecting many national value perceptions positively. The new statements found to differ by previous visitation included Canberra mirrors Australia’s culture, reflects mateship, tolerance, environmental values, is a place of consensus and is easy to navigate.
• Twelve perceptions were more positive as a result of watching the Australia Day Live concert telecast (regardless of previous visitation) indicating the importance of hosting national events in increasing pride and changing perceptions.