Q. Which party would you trust most to manage a fair tax system?
| Total | Vote Labor | Vote Lib/Nat | Vote Greens | Vote other | Mar 2018 | |||
| Labor | 32% | 74% | 9% | 36% | 16% | 26% | ||
| Liberal-National | 32% | 4% | 72% | 13% | 29% | 28% | ||
| No difference | 22% | 13% | 12% | 36% | 45% | 31% | ||
| Don’t know | 15% | 9% | 6% | 15% | 10% | 15% |
Respondents were evenly divided on which party they would trust most to manage a fair tax system. 32% favoured the Labor Party and 32% favoured the Liberal and National parties. 22% thought there was no difference.
Those earning less than $1,500 pw trust Labor more (34% Labor/27% Liberal-National), and those earning more than $1,500 pw trust the Liberals a little more (33% Labor/37% Liberal-National).
Q. Who is Australia’s current Head of State?
| Total | Vote Labor | Vote Lib/Nat | Vote Greens | Vote other | Aged 18-34 | Aged 35-54 | Aged 55+ | |||
| The Prime Minister | 24% | 29% | 21% | 26% | 21% | 38% | 22% | 13% | ||
| The Governor General | 30% | 30% | 35% | 19% | 37% | 21% | 33% | 35% | ||
| The Queen of Great Britain | 34% | 34% | 38% | 38% | 34% | 22% | 34% | 47% | ||
| Don’t know | 12% | 8% | 6% | 17% | 8% | 19% | 11% | 5% |
34% think that the Queen of Great Britain is Australia’s head of state, 30% nominate the Governor General and 24% think it is the Prime Minister.
38% of those aged under 35 think the Prime Minister is the head of state and 47% of those age 55+ think it is the Queen.
Q. Would you support or oppose Australia becoming a republic with an Australian head of state?
| Total | Vote Labor | Vote Lib/Nat | Vote Greens | Vote other | Jan 2017 | Jan 2018 | |||
| Total support | 48% | 61% | 45% | 57% | 40% | 44% | 44% | ||
| Total oppose | 30% | 23% | 36% | 22% | 42% | 30% | 29% | ||
| Strongly support | 21% | 31% | 18% | 26% | 14% | 21% | 18% | ||
| Support | 27% | 30% | 27% | 31% | 26% | 23% | 26% | ||
| Oppose | 17% | 13% | 22% | 14% | 18% | 18% | 14% | ||
| Strongly oppose | 13% | 10% | 14% | 8% | 24% | 12% | 15% | ||
| Don’t know | 22% | 16% | 18% | 20% | 19% | 26% | 26% |
48% support Australia becoming a republic and 30% oppose. 22% have no opinion.
This is a small increase in support (up 4%) for a republic since this question was asked in January.
There was little difference in support for a republic across age groups – 50% of those aged under 35 support a republic compared to 45% of aged 35-54 and 51% of those aged 55+.
Q. If we had an Australian Head of State how should that person be selected?
| Total | Vote Labor | Vote Lib/Nat | Vote Greens | Vote other | ||
| Appointed by the Prime Minister | 9% | 9% | 13% | 6% | 4% | |
| Elected by the Australian people | 65% | 70% | 62% | 69% | 75% | |
| Appointed by a two-thirds majority of a joint sitting of the Federal Parliament | 12% | 12% | 13% | 16% | 9% | |
| Don’t know | 14% | 9% | 12% | 9% | 12% |
If Australia had an Australian head of state, 65% would prefer they be elected by the Australian people. 12% think they should be appointed by Parliament and 9% appointed by the Prime Minister.
Support for election of a head of state is consistent across voter and demographic groups.
Q. If a Federal Election was held today to which party will you probably give your first preference vote? If not sure, which party are you currently leaning toward? If don’t know – Well which party are you currently leaning to?
| Total | 1 week ago 8/5/18 | 3 weeks ago 24/4/18 | Election 2 Jul 16 | |||
| Liberal | 34% | 35% | 35% | |||
| National | 4% | 3% | 3% | |||
| Total Liberal/National | 38% | 38% | 37% | 42.0% | ||
| Labor | 36% | 37% | 36% | 34.7% | ||
| Greens | 10% | 10% | 11% | 10.2% | ||
| Nick Xenophon Team | 2% | 2% | 2% | |||
| Pauline Hanson’s One Nation | 7% | 6% | 8% | |||
| Other/Independent | 6% | 6% | 6% | 13.1% | ||
| 2 party preferred | ||||||
| Liberal National | 48% | 47% | 47% | 50.4% | ||
| Labor | 52% | 53% | 53% | 49.6% |
Q. Overall, do you approve or disapprove of the Federal Budget that was handed down on Tuesday 8th May?
| Total | Vote Labor | Vote Lib/Nat | Vote Greens | Vote other | 2017 | |||
| Total approve | 44% | 31% | 76% | 21% | 27% | 41% | ||
| Total Disapprove | 28% | 42% | 9% | 53% | 44% | 33% | ||
| Strongly approve | 5% | 6% | 7% | – | 3% | 5% | ||
| Approve | 39% | 25% | 69% | 21% | 24% | 36% | ||
| Disapprove | 19% | 27% | 8% | 34% | 28% | 23% | ||
| Strongly disapprove | 9% | 15% | 1% | 19% | 16% | 10% | ||
| Don’t know | 28% | 28% | 15% | 27% | 29% | 25% |
44% approved of the Federal Budget and 28% disapproved. This was a little more positive than the response to the 2017 budget – +3 on approval and -5 on disapproval.
76% of Liberal National voters approved compared to 31% of Labor voters. A majority (53%) of Greens voters disapproved.
Only 30% of low-income earners (less than $600 pw) approved compared to 51% of those earning $2,000+.
Q. Does this budget make you feel more confident or less confident in the Government’s ability to manage the economy?
| Total | Vote Labor | Vote Lib/Nat | Vote Greens | Vote other | 2017 | |||
| Total more confident | 28% | 17% | 55% | 10% | 14% | 27% | ||
| Total less confident | 23% | 34% | 5% | 40% | 38% | 29% | ||
| A lot more confident | 7% | 6% | 14% | 2% | 3% | 5% | ||
| A little more confident | 21% | 11% | 41% | 8% | 11% | 22% | ||
| Makes no difference | 36% | 38% | 34% | 40% | 37% | 33% | ||
| A little less confident | 11% | 15% | 4% | 16% | 17% | 15% | ||
| A lot less confident | 12% | 19% | 1% | 24% | 21% | 14% | ||
| Don’t know | 12% | 11% | 7% | 10% | 11% | 11% |
28% said the budget makes them feel more confident in the Government’s ability to manage the economy and 23% say it makes them feel less confident. Again, this represents a slightly more positive response than last year – +1 for more confidence and -6 for less confidence.
36% say it makes no difference.
55% of Liberal National voters say if makes them more confident compared to 17% of Labor voters and 10% of Greens voters.
Q. One of the major budget announcements was changes to income tax. From July 1st most people earning under $90,000 will receive a $10 per week tax cut. Which best describes what this will mean for you and your family?
| Total | Men | Women | Age 18-34 |
Age 35-54 | Age 55+ |
Income less than $600 pw | $600-1,000 pw | $1,000-1,500 pw | $1,500-2,000 pw | Over $2,000 pw | |
| It will make a difference to my household | 22% | 22% | 22% | 35% | 22% | 8% | 16% | 19% | 22% | 23% | 29% |
| It won’t make any real difference to my household | 45% | 46% | 43% | 39% | 50% | 45% | 33% | 40% | 61% | 49% | 51% |
| I won’t be receiving it | 25% | 25% | 24% | 15% | 18% | 43% | 47% | 33% | 13% | 17% | 13% |
| Don’t know | 8% | 7% | 10% | 11% | 10% | 4% | 3% | 7% | 4% | 12% | 7% |
Only 22% say that the tax cuts will make a difference to their household. 45% say it won’t make any real difference and 25% think they won’t receive the tax cut.
Younger respondents (35% of aged 18-35) and those on higher incomes (29% of income $2K+) were most likely to think it will make a difference to their household.