Q. Thinking about the Government budget set to be announced soon, which of the following is the most important thing the Government needs to do?
| May 2009 | April 2010 | Shift | |
| Cut spending so we don’t go further into debt | 24% | 32% | +8% |
| Assist those on low incomes by increasing payments to pensioners and the unemployed | 26% | 24% | -2% |
| Stimulate the economy by cutting income taxes | 25% | 20% | -5% |
| Increase Government spending to further stimulate economic growth | * | 9% | * |
| Stimulate the economy by giving assistance to businesses | 15% | 5% | -10% |
| Don’t know | 10% | 10% | – |
*Not asked in 2009 survey.
32% of people think that the most important thing that the Government needs to do in the upcoming budget is cut spending so we don’t go further into debt, 24% think increasing payments to pensioners and the unemployed is the most important thing the Government needs to do and 20% think the budget should include stimulating the economy by cutting income taxes.
Coalition voters were more likely to think the most important thing that should be included in the upcoming budget are cuts to spending so we don’t go further into debt (51%). Labor (33%) and Green (34%) voters were more likely to think that assisting those on low incomes by increasing payments to pensioners and unemployed is the most important thing the Government needs to do in the upcoming budget.
People aged 65 years and over were more likely to think that the most important thing the Government needs to do in the upcoming budget is assist those on low incomes by increasing payments to pensioners and the unemployed (40%). People aged 25 – 34 were more likely to think the most important budget measure should be cutting income taxes (33%).
People earning $600 – $1000 were more likely to support increased payments to pensioners (41%) while those on $1600+ were more likely to prefer cuts to income tax (26%).
The most significant shift since the 2009 survey is in terms of stimulating the economy by assisting business (-10%) and cut spending so we don’t go further into debt (+8%).