The ABC's Vote Compass provided unprecedented insight into the views of Australian voters, capturing more than 1.2 million responses during the federal election campaign.

Here are 21 things Vote Compass has revealed about Australian political life.

1. Australia's 11 most right-leaning seats are all in Queensland.

The most right-leaning seat is Maranoa, an outback electorate that covers 42 per cent of the Sunshine State.

At the other end of the spectrum is Deputy PM Anthony Albanese's inner-western Sydney seat of Grayndler, the most left-leaning politically.

Queensland is also home to the top 10 seats that are least in favour of increasing foreign aid, least in favour of increasing university funding, least in favour of more action on climate change, and least in favour of pricing carbon.

Queensland's most left-leaning seat is Kevin Rudd's electorate of Griffith; it's the 37th most left-leaning seat in the country.

2. The Coalition holds Australia's tenth most left-leaning seat.

With thanks to Malcolm Turnbull in Wentworth.

On the flip side, Labor holds the fifth most right-leaning seat in the country - Capricornia.

Sorry, this video has expired Vote Compass reveals most left and right-leaning electorates

3. None of Australia's key political leaders rate any higher than 4 out of 10.

That's on matters of trust and competence.

Vote Compass also reveals Tony Abbott pulled ahead of Kevin Rudd during the campaign, with voters of all stripes rating Mr Abbott higher by the end of the campaign.

Mr Rudd even trails Mr Abbott on trust and competence ratings in the PM's home state, Queensland.

But women score Tony Abbott lower on trust and competence than men do.

Sorry, this video has expired ABC's Vote Compass survey shows Kevin Rudd's support in Qld may be flagging

4. Labourers rate Tony Abbott more highly than Kevin Rudd.

Mr Rudd outscores Mr Abbott among workers in the arts, education and information sector, as well as among the retired and unemployed.

5. Protestant voters rate Tony Abbott (a Catholic) higher than Kevin Rudd (an Anglican).

Catholic voters rate them about equally on matters of trust and competence.

6. Labor had a 'bloke problem' under former PM Julia Gillard.

Antony Green explains that was a serious problem for the ALP: "While the gap in gender voting has declined over the past four decades ... Labor normally polls better among male voters."

7. Men are much more likely than women to rate broadband and the economy as the most important issues.

Women, meanwhile, are much more likely to nominate health and education.

Sorry, this video has expired ABC Vote Compass bearing toward economy

8. Greens voters are about twice as likely as Labor and Coalition voters to say asylum seekers are the most important issue.

Greens supporters also rate climate change about twice as important as any other party grouping does.

9. The richer a respondent is, the more important they think the economy is.

When it comes to health, the exact opposite is the case.

10. Gay marriage has majority support

Fifty-two per cent of people support gay marriage, compared to 36 per cent who believe marriage should only be between a man and a woman.

Women and single voters are more likely to support gay marriage than men and people who are married.

The closer you live to the inner city, the more likely you are to support gay marriage.

Sorry, this video has expired Vote Compass finds majority support for gay marriage

11. Almost half of Labor voters oppose the party's asylum seeker policy.

Forty-eight per cent of Labor supporters disagree with the statement that asylum seekers who arrive by boat should not be allowed to settle in Australia.

Coalition and Green voters are much more firmly locked in behind their parties' asylum seeker policies.

Sorry, this video has expired Labor voters divided on asylum seeker policy

12. The further respondents live from the inner city, the more likely they are to support turning back asylum seekers' boats.

However, there is no notable difference between people born in Australia and those born outside Australia on whether boats should be turned back.

13. Australians want mining companies to pay more tax.

Fifty-nine per cent believe miners should pay more, compared to 10 per cent who think they should pay less.

14. An overwhelming majority supports legalised voluntary euthanasia for the terminally ill.

A strong majority of Australians also want abortion services to remain at least as accessible as they currently are.

15. Most South Australians do not want financial support for the car industry increased.

Even though it's the home of Holden.

Sorry, this video has expired Economy continues to be key issue on Vote Compass findings

16. 61 per cent of Australians want the Government to do more to tackle climate change.

More than three-quarters of Labor and Greens supporters want greater action on climate change, but Coalition voters are more evenly split.

Women and younger voters feel most strongly about the need for more action.

Less than one-fifth of people think it should do less.

Sorry, this video has expired Voters want climate change back on agenda: Vote Compass

17. Retired and unemployed people are the group most likely to want tighter restrictions on foreign workers.

Those working in the financial and professional services sector are most likely to oppose tighter restrictions.

18. Most support acknowledging Indigenous Australians as the first inhabitants.

Seventy per cent of voters say they support amending the Constitution to recognise Indigenous Australians.

19. Any easing of restrictions on coal seam gas exploration meets strong opposition.

55 per cent of Australians say they oppose any lifting of limits.

And NSW voters are the most concerned about CSG.

Sorry, this video has expired Australians want miners to pay more tax: Vote Compass

20. There's widespread backing for tighter rules on foreign ownership of Australian farmland.

More than 75 per cent of Australians support firmed rules. And it turns out PM Kevin Rudd is one of them.

21. Northern Territorians are the most strident supporters of live animal exports.

Fifty-seven per cent of NT voters oppose any ban on the industry.

The strongest supporters of a ban on live exports are in Tasmania, Sydney and Melbourne.

FAQ

What is this?

When Prime Minister Kevin Rudd called the federal election for September 7, the ABC immediately launchedVote Compass.

Since then, we have received more than 1.2 million responses, as people used the tool to see how their views compare to the parties' policies.

The ABC has been publishing weighted data showing what Australians think about numerous political issues. This report pulls together some of the key findings.

The data has been weighted by gender, age, education, enrolment as a student, religion, marital status, industry and state using the latest population estimates to be a true representation of opinion at the time of the field.

Vote Compass is not a random sample. Why are the results being represented as though it is a poll?

Vote Compass is not a poll. It is primarily and fundamentally an educational tool intended to promote electoral literacy and stimulate public engagement in the policy aspect of election campaigns.

That said, respondents' views as expressed through Vote Compass can add a meaningful dimension to our understanding of public attitudes and an innovative new medium for self-expression. Ensuring that the public has a decipherable voice in the affairs of government is a critical function of a robust democracy.

Online surveys are inherently prone to selection bias but statisticians have long been able to correct for this (given the availability of certain variables) by drawing on population estimates such as Census micro-data.

We apply sophisticated weighting techniques to the data to control for the selection effects of the sample, thus enabling us to make statistical inferences about the Australian population with a high degree of confidence.

The Vote Compass data sample was weighted on the basis of: gender; age; education; students; religion; marital status.

How can you stop people from trying to game the system?

There are multiple safeguards in place to ensure the authenticity of each record in the dataset.

Vote Compass does not make its protocols in this regard public so as not to aid those that might attempt to exploit the system, but among standard safeguards such as IP address logging and cookie tracking, it also uses time codes and a series of other measures to prevent users from gaming the system.

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