Tony Abbott spent a lot of time reflecting on issues of national importance last week, contemplating very publicly what he should have done differently when he was prime minister. His conclusions bear little resemblance to the broader public’s views of his failings – a lack of focus on jobs and education, a budget that undermined every single election promise his party made and the knighting of Prince Phillip.

No, if he had his time again he would have invested in more coalmines and nuclear-powered submarines. While the real prime minister’s adversaries in his own party like to paint him as out of touch, Tony Abbott’s pronouncements are those of a politician who couldn’t read the public mood with the assistance of the Hubble space telescope.

Abbott’s determination to remain in parliament, in the news and in the public eye can’t only be because he wants to be a wrecker. He must believe – even if he only whispers it to himself in the dark – that he is relatively young, fit and capable of leading his party again. But today’s Essential Report results show that not only does a good-sized chunk of the electorate want him out of parliament but his policy agenda is out of sync with the national conversation.

Guardian Essential poll finds 43% want Tony Abbott to leave parliament Read more

On the question of same-sex marriage, the trend towards growing support continues with 63% in favour and just a quarter against, representing the highest level of support for the issue in over a year. If you break these numbers down according to generations, the argument that marriage equality is inevitable is reinforced; 74% of 18-24-year-olds support same-sex marriage, compared with 48% of over 65-year-olds. The longer Abbott stays in parliament, the greater distance on this issue between him and the electorate. One area where his position matches the broader position of voters is whether this issue should be solved by a national vote or by parliament alone; 59% still favour a national vote.

But as I have said and written many times, the issues of same-sex marriage is rarely discussed in the qualitative work I have conducted on Australian attitudes; it is most often raised as an example of how our politicians seem incapable of dealing with issues that other countries seem capable of dealing with easily.

What does get raised constantly in all kinds of households, in all kinds of communities across the land, is the question of housing affordability. Abbott did very little on this when he was prime minister. His most recent policy ideas in this area have been to cut immigration and let people raid their superannuation. This reflects his lack of understanding that an issue as complex and acute as the availability and cost of housing requires a suite of policies, not just the few that align with his political agenda.

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As the Essential Report numbers show, the community understand a range of measures are needed to deal with this escalating problem including tax incentives for downsizers, a ban on “interest-only” loans for property investors and, yes, reform of negative gearing.

His suggestion about superannuation is in fact the most polarising measure, receiving 44% support and 30% opposition. In my qualitative work on housing affordability, I’ve found very strong views against this idea of using super to buy a home. Even among younger people desperate to get into the housing market, the idea of pillaging their super seems a short-term solution, robbing Peter to pay Paul.

Let me end on a positive note for our former PM: the group of voters who are most supportive of him remaining in parliament in some capacity are independents, who don’t vote Green, Labor or Liberal. Perhaps they think he is raising the issues that matter to them. Or perhaps it is because he is behaving as if he isn’t a member of a party at all, except the one he is throwing for himself.