Australian Candidate Study, 2004

The 2004 Australian Candidate Study is the seventh in a series of election studies on federal election candidates. In 2004, candidates from the following parties were surveyed - Australian Labor Party, Liberal Party of Australia, National Party of Australia, Australian Democrats, Australian Greens, Pauline Hanson's One Nation, Family First Party and Citizens Electoral Council of Australia. The study examined the prominent election issues, including attitudes to particular economic issues, and opinions on which are the most critical problems facing Australia. Opinions on other political issues such as security relations with other countries, assistance for Aborigines and women, and social issues such as abortion and pornography were also sought. A section on political and social institutions includes questions on the Australian democratic system, the role of the Monarchy, immigration and racism. In addition, the survey asked questions relating to the political background, such as electoral history, party political involvement and membership of community organisations. A section on campaigning asked for the amount of time candidates spent on campaign activities and the amount of support received from various sources. ALP candidates were also asked a series of questions on ALP factions. Background variables include age, country of birth, age when left school, number of years of tertiary study, religion, frequency of attending religious services, marital status, House contested and party affiliated with. Some of these variables have been grouped to ensure confidentiality for the candidates.