Essential Report
Budget Response
- ALP leader Bill Shorten announced a number of policy measures in response to last week’s federal budget. Do you approve or disapprove of these measures?
Total approve | Total disapprove | Strongly approve | Approve | Neither approve nor disapprove | Disapprove | Strongly disapprove | Don’t know | |||
Create a $100m fund to invest in TAFE campuses | 57% | 10% | 19% | 38% | 24% | 6% | 4% | 10% | ||
Restrict the Medicare levy increase to taxpayers earning more than $87k per year, rather than all taxpayers | 55% | 21% | 22% | 33% | 15% | 12% | 9% | 10% | ||
Require at least one in ten people employed on every government infrastructure project to be an apprentice | 55% | 9% | 17% | 38% | 24% | 6% | 3% | 12% | ||
Continue the ‘deficit levy’ on earnings above $180k per year | 54% | 10% | 21% | 33% | 18% | 6% | 4% | 18% | ||
Oppose a cut to the company tax rate, which is expected to cost $65bn over ten years. | 41% | 23% | 20% | 21% | 21% | 14% | 9% | 16% |
The most popular measure was the $100m TAFE fund, which was supported by 57%. Support for this proposal was strongest amongst Labor voters (69% approve) and those aged 45-64 (63%).
The least popular measure was opposing the Coalition’s company tax cut, thought this still received 41% approval, and only 23% disapproval. Liberal/National voters were the only group in which more people disapproved (36%) than approved (25%) of this measure.

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Essential Report
In this week's report:
- Performance of Scott Morrison
- Performance of Anthony Albanese
- Preferred Prime Minister
- Views towards re-electing the federal Coalition government
- Party trust to handle issues
- Importance of Australia’s international reputation
- Scott Morrison’s impact on Australia’s international reputation
- Views towards Australia’s international reputation
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