Q. Do you think the Labor Opposition should vote for or against the following budget decisions?
|
Vote for |
Vote against |
Don’t know |
|
| A 2% deficit levy on earnings over $180,000 |
73% |
13% |
14% |
| Foreign aid frozen at current levels for two years, helping save $7.6 billion over five years |
65% |
22% |
12% |
| University graduates to repay HELP debt once they earn $50,638 (reduced from $53,345) |
64% |
25% |
11% |
| A six-month waiting period for those under-30 before they can access the dole (Newstart) |
47% |
41% |
12% |
| Cut 16,500 full-time jobs from the public service in the next 3 years |
36% |
49% |
15% |
| A $120M cut to the ABC’s budget |
32% |
47% |
21% |
| $7 Medicare co-payment for all visits to the GP, with this money to be used to fund a Medical Research Future Fund. |
32% |
61% |
8% |
| Cut public funding for university courses by 20% |
28% |
57% |
16% |
| Eligibility for the age pension to rise to 70 by 2035 |
27% |
62% |
10% |
| Deregulation of university fees (meaning universities can set their own tuition fees) |
23% |
63% |
15% |
A majority think that Labor should vote for the 2% deficit levy (73%), freezing foreign aid (65%) and reducing the income level at which students repay debt (64%).
A majority think that Labor should vote against deregulation of university fees (63%), raising the pension age (62%), the $7 Medicare copayment (61%) and cutting university funding (57%).
They were more divided over the other issues, but tended to support the six-month waiting period for under 30’s to access the dole (47% for/41% against) and tended to oppose cutting the public service (36%/49%) and cutting funds to the ABC (32%/47%).