Reasons economy is poor
Q. What is the main reason you don’t think the state of the economy is good? *
|
28 May 12 |
Total |
Vote Labor |
Vote Lib/Nat |
|
| Poor economic management by Government |
27% |
40% |
17% |
52% |
| Increasing cost of living |
34% |
27% |
41% |
22% |
| Businesses are struggling |
13% |
11% |
7% |
13% |
| Increasing gap between rich and poor |
9% |
7% |
15% |
3% |
| Incomes aren’t increasing fast enough to keep up |
7% |
6% |
7% |
5% |
| Global financial problems |
7% |
5% |
7% |
4% |
| Other reason |
2% |
3% |
6% |
2% |
| Don’t know |
1% |
1% |
- |
- |
* Based on those who disagree that economy is good.
Those who disagreed that the economy was good said the main reasons were poor economic management by Government (40%) and the increasing cost of living (27%). Those who blame poor economic management by the Government has increased 13% and cost of living has decreased 7% since May last year.
62% of respondents aged 55+ blamed poor economic management by Government while the increasing cost of living was the major factor for 41% of respondents aged 25-44.
The Australian economy
Q. Thinking about the state of the world economy, how do you think the Australian economy has performed over the last few years compared to other countries?
|
15 Aug 11 |
7 May 12 |
Total 29 Jan 13 |
Vote Labor |
Vote Lib/Nat |
Vote Greens |
|
| Total better |
70% |
66% |
70% |
84% |
64% |
71% |
| Total worse |
10% |
15% |
12% |
5% |
16% |
10% |
| A lot better |
31% |
29% |
29% |
45% |
18% |
35% |
| A little better |
39% |
37% |
41% |
39% |
46% |
36% |
| About the same |
16% |
16% |
16% |
10% |
19% |
17% |
| A little worse |
7% |
9% |
7% |
3% |
9% |
6% |
| A lot worse |
3% |
6% |
5% |
2% |
7% |
4% |
| Don’t know |
3% |
3% |
3% |
2% |
1% |
2% |
70% think that Australia’s economy has performed better than other countries over the last few years, 16% say about the same and 12% think it has been worse. This represents a shift from net +51 to net +58 since this question was previously asked in May last year.
There were no substantial differences across demographic groups although those on lower incomes were a little more likely to believe it has performed worse – for those on income under $600pw, 56% think Australia’s economy has performed better and 20% worse.
Trust to deal with GFC
Q. If there was another Global Financial Crisis, which party would you trust most to deal with it?
|
15 Aug 11 |
7 May 12 |
Total 29 Jan 13 |
Vote Labor |
Vote Lib/Nat |
Vote Greens |
|
| The Labor Party |
31% |
25% |
26% |
68% |
2% |
23% |
| The Liberal Party |
40% |
42% |
40% |
4% |
84% |
6% |
| No difference |
20% |
23% |
22% |
18% |
10% |
52% |
| Don’t know |
9% |
10% |
11% |
10% |
4% |
19% |
If there was another GFC, 40% would trust the Liberal Party more to handle it and 26% would trust the Labor Party more. This represents a slight shift to the Labor Party from net -17% to net -14% since May last year.
The Liberal Party was rated higher than Labor with all demographic groups except for low income earners – 35% of those earning under $600pw would trust the Labor Party more and 29% the Liberal Party. Those most likely to trust the Liberal Party more were aged 55+ (52%), full-time workers (45%) and income over $1,600 pw (44%).
Decisions of the Labor Government
Q. Thinking about the decisions the Labor Government has made over the last few years, do you think the following decisions were good or bad for Australia?
|
|
Total good |
Total bad |
Very good |
Good |
Neither good nor bad |
Bad |
Very bad |
Don’t know |
| Expanding dental health services for people on low incomes |
77% |
5% |
33% |
44% |
14% |
2% |
3% |
5% |
| Increasing the tax free threshold from $6,000 to $18,200 |
75% |
4% |
36% |
39% |
16% |
3% |
1% |
5% |
| Increasing the age pension |
70% |
11% |
30% |
40% |
13% |
7% |
4% |
6% |
| Increasing superannuation from 9% to 12% |
68% |
9% |
27% |
41% |
16% |
6% |
3% |
6% |
| Protecting large areas of Australia’s marine environment in a network of marine reserves |
67% |
8% |
28% |
39% |
20% |
5% |
3% |
7% |
| Introducing the National Disability Insurance Scheme |
58% |
5% |
21% |
37% |
23% |
3% |
2% |
14% |
| Implementing the recommendations of the Gonski report to increase education funding |
54% |
8% |
20% |
34% |
25% |
5% |
3% |
13% |
| Stimulus spending to tackle the Global Financial Crisis (GFC) |
54% |
22% |
22% |
32% |
18% |
14% |
8% |
8% |
| Spending on new school buildings during the GFC |
53% |
22% |
15% |
38% |
18% |
12% |
10% |
6% |
| Paid parental leave |
52% |
20% |
17% |
35% |
23% |
12% |
8% |
5% |
| Introducing a tax on large profits of mining companies |
49% |
25% |
24% |
25% |
17% |
13% |
12% |
8% |
| Implementing the recommendations of the expert committee on asylum seekers including offshore processing |
45% |
15% |
15% |
30% |
28% |
8% |
7% |
12% |
| Building the NBN (National Broadband Network) |
43% |
28% |
17% |
26% |
22% |
14% |
14% |
7% |
| Abolished WorkChoices |
42% |
27% |
23% |
19% |
19% |
17% |
10% |
12% |
| Introducing a carbon tax to tackle climate change |
28% |
51% |
14% |
14% |
15% |
16% |
35% |
7% |
The two most popular decisions of the Labor Government are ‘expanding dental health services for people on low incomes’ (77% total good) and ‘increasing the tax free threshold from $6,000 to $18,000 (75% total good). The least popular decisions were ‘Building the NBN’ (43% total good), ‘Abolished WorkChoices’ (42% total good) and ‘introducing a carbon tax to tackle climate change’ (28% total good).
Of the fifteen decisions put to respondents, the majority of respondents believed that 10 of the 15 decisions were good for Australia. For the remaining 5 decisions, a larger portion of respondents generally regarded the decision to be good for Australia except for ‘introducing a carbon tax to tackle climate change’, where the majority of respondents (51%) believed it to be bad for Australia.
Female respondents were more likely to endorse the dental health reforms (80% total good) compared with male respondents (74% total good).
Increasing the age pension was most strongly supported by respondents aged 65+ (77% total good).
Introducing paid parental leave was more popular with female respondents (57% total good), compared with male respondents (46% total good). Looking at this decision by age, it was most popular amongst respondents aged 25-34 (62%) and 35-44 (62%) whereas respondents aged 65+ were the most likely to regard the decision as a bad one (36% total bad).
Implementing the recommendations of the expert committee on asylum seekers including offshore processing proved to be a very popular decision amongst respondents aged 65+ (65% total good), whereas respondents aged 25-34 were the most likely to regard it as a bad decision (43% total bad).
Female respondents were more likely to regard ‘protecting large areas of Australia’s marine environment’ as a good decision (72% total good) compared with male respondents (60% total good).
Impact on Australia of European Economic Crisis
Q. How much impact do you think the current economic and financial problems in Europe have on the Australian economy— a major impact, some impact, only a small impact or no impact?
|
Total |
Vote Labor |
Vote Lib/Nat |
Vote Greens |
|
| A major impact |
14% |
12% |
18% |
8% |
| Some impact |
60% |
61% |
65% |
55% |
| Only a small impact |
16% |
18% |
12% |
24% |
| No impact |
3% |
2% |
1% |
6% |
| Don’t know |
7% |
7% |
3% |
6% |
14% think the financial and economic problems in Europe have a major impact on the Australian economy and 60% think they have some impact. Only 19% think they have only a small or no impact.
82% of respondents aged 55+ and 83% of Liberal/National voters think they have major/some impact.
Those most likely to think they have only a small or no impact were aged under 35 (23%) and Greens voters (30%).
Of those who had heard or read a lot about the problems in Europe, 26% think they have a major impact on the Australian economy and 58% think they have some impact.
Trust to Deal with Global Economic Problems
Q. Who do you trust most to deal effectively with global economic problems – Julia Gillard and the Labor Party or Tony Abbott and the Liberal Party?
|
Total |
Vote Labor |
Vote Lib/Nat |
Vote Greens |
|
| Julia Gillard and the Labor Party |
32% |
80% |
3% |
68% |
| Tony Abbott and the Liberal Party |
42% |
3% |
84% |
11% |
| Don’t know |
26% |
17% |
13% |
21% |
42% would trust Tony Abbott and the Liberal Party more to deal effectively with global economic problems and 32% would trust Julia Gillard and the Labor Party more.
Those more likely to trust Tony Abbott and the Liberal Party were aged 55+ (51%), full-time workers (46%) and income $1,600+ pw (48%).
Respondents earning less than $1,000 pw were more likely to trust Julia Gillard and the Labor Party (39%) than Tony Abbott and the Liberal Party (35%).
Of those who had heard or read a lot about the crisis in Europe, 46% would trust Tony Abbott and the Liberal Party more to deal effectively with global economic problems and 41% would trust Julia Gillard and the Labor Party more.
Are we a nation of financial dunces?
Ian Silk shares some frightening statistics about our lack of literacy when it comes to super and investing.
At a time when people are being asked to make more financial decisions than ever before, study after study shows the vast majority are overwhelmed by increasingly complex transactions.. It’s a startling fact for a country with the greatest number of shareholders in the world.
When it comes to super, as many as 43% of people rate themselves as having “none” (8%) or “only minimal” (35%) levels of knowledge about superannuation. CEO of AustralianSuper Ian Silk explains why one solution to start financial education at school level and embed the basic concepts could be the answer.
Is superannuation at a crossroads?
Gerard Noonan explains why Australia’s superannuation scheme is a shining beacon amongst the world’s retirement schemes.
Australia’s super scheme is unlike any other in the world. Anticipating our ageing population and an unsustainable increase in pension payments, the Keating government introduced a scheme which required financial contributions from workers and employers. With generous tax concessions and 25 years under its belt, super funds are now worth over $1.4 trillion. Australians now have more money invested in managed funds per capita than any other economy.
That doesn’t mean there hasn’t been criticism. With the GFC still biting shares and Europe’s woes likely to contribute to a weakening market, many changes have been mooted by various quarters. Some are calling for more investment in local infrastructure while others are questioning whether there is an overinvestment in the sharemarket.
Gerard Noonan tells 3Q the reasons why super is well worth the investment.
Reasons Economy is Poor
Q. What is the main reason you don’t think the state of the economy is good? *
|
Total |
Vote Labor |
Vote Lib/Nat |
Vote Greens |
|
| Increasing cost of living |
34% |
34% |
32% |
40% |
| Poor economic management by Government |
27% |
8% |
36% |
7% |
| Businesses are struggling |
13% |
14% |
12% |
19% |
| Increasing gap between rich and poor |
9% |
22% |
6% |
15% |
| Global financial problems |
7% |
11% |
5% |
11% |
| Incomes aren’t increasing fast enough to keep up |
7% |
11% |
7% |
- |
| Other reason |
2% |
- |
1% |
8% |
| Don’t know |
1% |
- |
1% |
- |
* Based on those who disagree that economy is good.
Those who disagreed that the economy was good said the main reasons were the increasing cost of living (34%) and poor economic management by Government (27%).
36% of respondents aged 55+ blamed poor economic management by Government while the increasing cost of living was the major factor for 43% of respondents aged 25-44.
There were no significant differences across income groups in relation to the increasing cost of living.
Trust to deal with GFC
Q. If there was another Global Financial Crisis, which party would you trust most to deal with it?
|
15 Aug 11 |
Total |
Vote Labor |
Vote Lib/Nat |
Vote Greens |
|
| The Labor Party |
31% |
25% |
68% |
2% |
42% |
| The Liberal Party |
40% |
42% |
5% |
83% |
5% |
| No difference |
20% |
23% |
19% |
11% |
39% |
| Don’t know |
9% |
10% |
8% |
4% |
14% |
If there was another GFC, 42% would trust the Liberal Party more to handle it and 25% would trust the Labor Party more. This represents a shift to the Liberal Party from net +9% to net +17%
The Liberal Party was rated higher than Labor with all demographic groups. Those most likely to trust the Liberal Party more were men (47%), aged 55+ (48%), full-time workers (50%) and income over $1,600 pw (50%).
Reason for Budget Deficit
Q. The Federal Government is currently running a budget deficit, but intends to return to surplus with the budget for 2012-13 to be announced next month. Which of the following do you think has been most responsible for the deficit over the last few years?
|
Total 11/4/11 |
Total 10/4/12 |
Vote Labor |
Vote Lib/Nat |
Vote Greens |
|
| Poor economic management by the Government |
23% |
28% |
7% |
48% |
7% |
| Big companies not paying their fair share of taxes |
17% |
16% |
28% |
5% |
28% |
| Lower tax revenues because of the Global Financial Crisis |
13% |
16% |
27% |
10% |
22% |
| Spending on big projects like the National Broadband Network |
14% |
15% |
14% |
17% |
10% |
| The cost of the Government’s GFC stimulus packages |
19% |
12% |
11% |
13% |
15% |
| Don’t know |
15% |
14% |
13% |
8% |
18% |
Overall, respondents believe the main reasons for the budget deficit are poor economic management by the Government (28%), big companies not paying their fair share of taxes (16%) and lower tax revenues because of the Global Financial Crisis (16%).
Since this question was asked 12 months ago, those blaming the Government for poor economic management has increased from 23% to 28% and those blaming the cost of the Government’s GFC stimulus packages has declined from 19% to 12%.
Labor voters were most likely to blame big companies not paying their fair share of taxes (28%) and lower tax revenues because of the GFC (27%) while Liberal/National voters blame poor economic management by the Government (48%). Greens voters tended to blame big companies not paying their fair share of taxes (28%).
Essential Report
Two Party Preferred: 20 May 2013
In this week's report:
3Q: Latest episodes
-
Essential Report with EMC’s Peter Lewis and Jackie Woods
Comments19 Sep 2012Lewis and Woods talk through this week’s polling numbers: voting intention, leader attributes, drug laws in Australia, and more…
-
Are we ready for the grey revolution?
Comments12 Sep 2012Ken Morrison says our cities need to be transformed for our ageing population – and it’s not solely about nursing homes.
-
Ships, trains and submarines — can we build them here?
Comments11 Sep 2012Tim Ayres wishes Clive Palmer and other mining giants would give local manufacturers a go instead of heading overseas.
-
Do we undervalue our public sector innovations?
Comments11 Sep 2012Nadine Flood questions whether governments take our science and other publicly funded breakthroughs for granted.
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