budget, Budget Surplus, Federal Budget Surplus
Q. Before the 2019 Federal election, the Government promised the 2019-2020 budget would return to surplus. To what extent do you agree or disagree with the following statements about achieving a budget surplus?
| NET: Agree | NET: Disagree | Strongly agree | Somewhat agree | Somewhat disagree | Strongly disagree | Unsure | |
| It’s more important to spend money on bushfire recovery than fund the surplus | 79% | 11% | 50% | 30% | 7% | 5% | 9% |
| It’s understandable with the coronavirus impacting trade with China that the surplus won’t be achieved | 65% | 18% | 25% | 40% | 12% | 6% | 17% |
| The government was wrong to announce the budget ‘was back in the black’ before the last election | 57% | 24% | 25% | 32% | 17% | 7% | 19% |
Budget Surplus, Federal Budget
Q. How important is it that the Government returns the budget to surplus?
| Total | Vote Labor | Vote Lib/Nat | Vote Greens | Vote other | ||
| Total important | 71% | 63% | 87% | 49% | 78% | |
| Total not important | 19% | 28% | 9% | 43% | 13% | |
| Very important | 31% | 21% | 47% | 8% | 38% | |
| Somewhat important | 40% | 42% | 40% | 41% | 40% | |
| Not very important | 15% | 23% | 7% | 33% | 11% | |
| Not at all important | 4% | 5% | 2% | 10% | 2% | |
| Don’t know | 10% | 9% | 4% | 8% | 9% |
71% thought that returning the budget to surplus was important. Those most likely to think this were Liberal/National voters (87% important), those earning over $104,000 (78%) and those working full time (76%).
19% thought that returning the budget to surplus was not important. Those most likely to think this were Greens voters (43% not important) and ALP voters (28%).
Budget Surplus, Federal Budget, Spending
Q. Do you think it is more important for the Government to return the budget to surplus as soon as possible – which may mean cutting services and raising taxes – OR should they delay the return to surplus and maintain services and invest in infrastructure?
| Total | Vote Labor | Vote Lib/Nat | Vote Greens | Vote other | ||
| Return to surplus as soon as possible, cut services, raise taxes | 18% | 12% | 28% | 7% | 16% | |
| Delay return to surplus, maintain services, invest in infrastructure | 65% | 75% | 59% | 81% | 67% | |
| Don’t know | 18% | 13% | 12% | 12% | 17% |
65% thought it was more important to delay a return to surplus, maintain services and invest in infrastructure. Those most likely to think this were Greens voters (81%) and ALP voters (75%).
18% it was more important to return to surplus as soon as possible. Those most likely to sat think were Liberal/National voters (28%), those aged 65+ (22%) and those earning over $104,000 (22%).
Budget Surplus, economic issues, inflation, Interest rates, tax levels, unemployment, wealth disparity
Q. Which of the following economic issues are you personally most concerned about?
|
Total |
|
Vote Labor |
Vote Lib/Nat |
Vote Greens |
Vote other/ indep-endent |
|
2 Sep 13 |
19 Nov |
|
| Unemployment |
25% |
28% |
23% |
22% |
18% |
23% |
24% |
||
| Wealth disparity |
21% |
29% |
11% |
42% |
27% |
19% |
16% |
||
| Inflation |
15% |
17% |
15% |
4% |
17% |
13% |
16% |
||
| Tax levels |
13% |
11% |
16% |
– |
19% |
15% |
13% |
||
| Interest rates |
12% |
10% |
17% |
8% |
13% |
9% |
16% |
||
| Budget surplus |
5% |
1% |
10% |
8% |
3% |
11% |
4% |
||
| None of them |
4% |
3% |
4% |
14% |
3% |
7% |
6% |
||
| Don’t know |
4% |
2% |
3% |
2% |
1% |
3% |
4% |
25% were most concerned about unemployment, 21% about wealth disparity and 15% about inflation. Only 5% were most concerned about a budget surplus.
Since this question was asked in November, concern about wealth disparity has increased from 16% to 21% and concern about interest rates has dropped from 16% to 12%.
Labor voters were most concerned about wealth disparity (29%) and unemployment (28%), while Liberal/National voters were most concerned about unemployment (23%).
Q. Do you think it is more important for the Government to return the budget to surplus as soon as possible – which may mean cutting services and raising taxes – OR should they delay the return to surplus and maintain services and invest in infrastructure?
|
Total |
|
Vote Labor |
Vote Lib/Nat |
Vote Greens |
Vote other |
|
| Return to surplus as soon as possible, cut services, raise taxes |
15% |
5% |
26% |
10% |
8% |
|
| Delay return to surplus, maintain services, invest in infrastructure |
69% |
82% |
61% |
79% |
71% |
|
| Don’t know |
16% |
13% |
13% |
11% |
21% |
Only 15% think that the Government should return the budget to surplus as soon as possible – which may mean cutting services and raising taxes – and 69% think they should delay the return to surplus and maintain services and invest in infrastructure.
Liberal/National voters were a little more likely to think it is more important to return to surplus as soon as possible (26%).
020913, 2 September 2013, Budget Surplus, economic issue, inflation, Interest rates, tax levels, unemployment, wealth disparity
Q. Which of the following economic issues are you personally most concerned about?
|
Total |
|
Vote Labor |
Vote Lib/Nat |
Vote Greens |
|
| Unemployment |
23% |
28% |
22% |
20% |
|
| Wealth disparity |
19% |
29% |
7% |
43% |
|
| Tax levels |
15% |
8% |
21% |
12% |
|
| Inflation |
13% |
13% |
14% |
5% |
|
| Budget surplus |
11% |
3% |
20% |
3% |
|
| Interest rates |
9% |
10% |
10% |
8% |
|
| None of them |
7% |
6% |
6% |
9% |
|
| Don’t know |
3% |
4% |
1% |
– |
23% were most concerned about unemployment, 19% about wealth disparity and 15% about tax levels. Only 11% were most concerned about a budget surplus.
Labor voters were most concerned about wealth disparity (29%) and unemployment (28%), while Liberal/National voters were most concerned about unemployment (22%), tax levels (21%) and a budget surplus (20%).
05 February 2013, 050213, Budget Surplus
Q. Do you approve or disapprove of the Government’s decision not to return the budget to surplus this financial year?
|
Total |
Vote Labor |
Vote Lib/Nat |
Vote Greens |
|
| Total approve |
42% |
64% |
29% |
55% |
| Total disapprove |
37% |
12% |
57% |
25% |
| Strongly approve |
9% |
18% |
5% |
8% |
| Approve |
33% |
46% |
24% |
47% |
| Disapprove |
27% |
11% |
39% |
22% |
| Strongly disapprove |
10% |
1% |
18% |
3% |
| Don’t know |
21% |
23% |
14% |
20% |
42% approve of the Government’s decision not to return the budget to surplus this financial year and 37% disapprove.
Those most likely to approve were Labor voters (64%), Greens voters (55%), men (51%), aged 55+ (50%) and people on incomes under $600pw (50%).
57% of Liberal/National voters disapprove.
14 May 2012, 140512, budget, budget 2012, Budget Surplus, Federal Budget, Polling, polls
Q. Thinking about the Federal Budget – how much attention did you pay to this week’s Federal Budget?
|
2009 |
2010 |
2011 |
2012 |
|
| Total a lot/some |
66% |
53% |
52% |
54% |
| Total a little/none |
31% |
44% |
45% |
43% |
| A lot |
29% |
18% |
19% |
20% |
| Some |
37% |
35% |
33% |
34% |
| A little |
25% |
29% |
31% |
31% |
| None |
6% |
15% |
14% |
12% |
| Can’t say |
3% |
3% |
2% |
3% |
Just over half (54%) of respondents said they paid a lot or some attention to the Federal Budget. This is much the same as the corresponding figure of 52% for last year’s budget.
Those most interested were Liberal/National voters (61%), Labor voters (59%) and people aged 55+ (64%). Only 42% of respondents aged 18-34 paid a lot or some attention to the budget.