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Attitudes towards Newstart

6 Aug 2019

Q. To what extent do you agree or disagree with the following statements about job searching and Newstart?

  NET: Agree Strongly agree Somewhat agree Neither agree, nor disagree Somewhat disagree Strongly disagree
In Australia, no-one should have to go without essentials like food, healthcare and power 84% 61% 23% 10% 3% 3%
Politicians are out of touch with what it’s like for people having to live off Newstart payments 73% 49% 23% 16% 7% 4%
Increasing the Newstart payment could help people find jobs, by providing funds for transport, internet access and training 66% 33% 33% 16% 12% 6%
The money it would cost to increase the Newstart payments would be better spent on other services 30% 12% 18% 30% 20% 20%
  • A large majority of participants agreed that no-one should have to go without essentials like food, healthcare and power (84%) with three-fifths (61%) strongly agreeing with this statement.
  • Three-quarters (73%) also agreed that politicians are out of touch with what it’s like for people having to live off Newstart payments with almost half (49%) strongly agreeing with this statement.
  • Two-thirds (66%) of participants agreed that increasing the Newstart payment could help people find jobs, by providing funds for transport, internet access and training.
  • Only 30% agreed that the money it would cost to increase the Newstart payments would be better spent on other services.
NET: Agree Total Gender Age
Male Female 18-34 35-54 55+
In Australia, no-one should have to go without essentials like food, healthcare and power 84% 81% 88% 75% 86% 91%
Politicians are out of touch with what it’s like for people having to live off Newstart payments 73% 71% 75% 65% 74% 78%
Increasing the Newstart payment could help people find jobs, by providing funds for transport, internet access and training 66% 64% 68% 61% 67% 69%
The money it would cost to increase the Newstart payments would be better spent on other services 30% 32% 27% 36% 30% 24%
Base (n) 1,102 543 559 348 374 380
  • Participants over 55 years old were more likely than younger participants to agree that no-one should have to go without essentials like food, healthcare and power (91% compared to 81%); and that politicians are out of touch with what it’s like for people having to live off Newstart payments (78% compared to 70%).
NET: Agree Total Federal Voting Intention
Labor Coalition Greens NET: Other
In Australia, no-one should have to go without essentials like food, healthcare and power 84% 89% 82% 85% 86%
Politicians are out of touch with what it’s like for people having to live off Newstart payments 73% 79% 64% 84% 82%
Increasing the Newstart payment could help people find jobs, by providing funds for transport, internet access and training 66% 72% 61% 78% 68%
The money it would cost to increase the Newstart payments would be better spent on other services 30% 25% 38% 22% 30%
Base (n) 1,102 320 387 107 159
  • Labor voters were more likely than Liberal voters to agree that no-one should have to go without essentials like food, healthcare and power (79% compared to 64%).
  • Coalition voters were more likely to agree than all other voters, that the money it would cost to increase the Newstart payments would be better spent on other services (38% versus 26% all other voters).
  • Coalition voters were also less likely than all other voters to agree that increasing the Newstart payment could help people find jobs, by providing funds for transport, internet access and training (61% versus 72% all other voters).
NET: Agree Total Income
NET: Lower Income NET: Mid-Income NET: High Income
In Australia, no-one should have to go without essentials like food, healthcare and power 84% 89% 86% 76%
Politicians are out of touch with what it’s like for people having to live off Newstart payments 73% 79% 72% 66%
Increasing the Newstart payment could help people find jobs, by providing funds for transport, internet access and training 66% 74% 66% 57%
The money it would cost to increase the Newstart payments would be better spent on other services 30% 26% 32% 34%
Base (n) 1,102 399 301 275
  • Lower income participants were more likely to agree with most of the statements than high income participants.
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