Q. GST is currently only payable for online shopping purchases over $1,000. Would you approve or disapprove of lowering the threshold at which GST is payable for online shopping purchases?
| Total | Vote Labor | Vote Lib/Nat | Vote Greens | Vote other | Dec 2013 | |||
| Total approve | 35% | 34% | 47% | 29% | 28% | 35% | ||
| Total disapprove | 45% | 49% | 34% | 56% | 51% | 53% | ||
| Strongly approve | 12% | 13% | 14% | 8% | 12% | 11% | ||
| Approve | 23% | 21% | 33% | 21% | 16% | 24% | ||
| Disapprove | 22% | 20% | 21% | 30% | 19% | 23% | ||
| Strongly disapprove | 23% | 29% | 13% | 26% | 32% | 30% | ||
| Don’t know | 20% | 16% | 20% | 15% | 21% | 12% |
35% approve of lowering the threshold at which GST is payable for online shopping purchases and 45% disapprove.
Those most likely to approve were Liberal/National voters (47%) and people aged 55+ (52%).
federal politics voting intention
Q. If a Federal Election was held today to which party will you probably give your first preference vote? If not sure, which party are you currently leaning toward?
Q. If don’t know -Well which party are you currently leaning to?
Sample size = 1,786 respondents
| First preference/leaning to | Election
7 Sep 13 |
4 weeks ago
3/3/15 |
2 weeks ago 17/3/15 | Last week
24/3/15 |
This week 31/3/15 | |
| Liberal | 37% | 37% | 37% | 36% | ||
| National | 3% | 3% | 3% | 4% | ||
| Total Liberal/National | 45.6% | 40% | 40% | 40% | 40% | |
| Labor | 33.4% | 41% | 39% | 41% | 40% | |
| Greens | 8.6% | 9% | 9% | 10% | 10% | |
| Palmer United Party | 5.5% | 2% | 2% | 1% | 1% | |
| Other/Independent | 6.9% | 9% | 9% | 8% | 9% |
| 2 Party Preferred | Election
7 Sep 13 |
4 weeks ago
3/3/15 |
2 weeks ago 17/3/15 | Last week
24/3/15 |
This week 31/3/15 | |
| Liberal National | 53.5% | 47% | 48% | 46% | 47% | |
| Labor | 46.5% | 53% | 52% | 54% | 53% |
The data in the above tables comprise 2-week averages derived from the first preference/leaning to voting questions. Respondents who select ‘don’t know’ are not included in the results. The two-party preferred estimate is calculated by distributing the votes of the other parties according to their preferences at the 2013 election.
Q. Do you think the following have become better or worse compared to 12 months ago?
| Total better | Total worse | A lot better | A little better | No change | A little worse | A lot worse | Don’t know | Total better Oct 2014 | Total worse Oct 2014 | |||
| Company profits | 34% | 23% | 10% | 24% | 26% | 15% | 8% | 17% | 31% | 19% | ||
| Your personal financial situation | 19% | 41% | 3% | 16% | 38% | 25% | 16% | 2% | 16% | 44% | ||
| Wages | 13% | 36% | 1% | 12% | 44% | 24% | 12% | 8% | 9% | 36% | ||
| The economy overall | 16% | 55% | 2% | 14% | 23% | 36% | 19% | 7% | 18% | 50% | ||
| National debt | 14% | 53% | 2% | 12% | 22% | 27% | 26% | 12% | 15% | 51% | ||
| Job security | 10% | 53% | 2% | 8% | 31% | 30% | 23% | 7% | 6% | 61% | ||
| Un-employment | 8% | 61% | 1% | 7% | 25% | 37% | 24% | 7% | 11% | 60% | ||
| Electricity costs | 12% | 66% | 2% | 10% | 18% | 32% | 34% | 5% | 7% | 67% | ||
| Cost of living | 6% | 72% | 1% | 5% | 19% | 41% | 31% | 3% | 6% | 72% |
A substantial majority believe that, in the last 12 months, cost of living (72%), electricity costs (66%) and unemployment (61%) have all got worse.
The only economic measure that has got better is company profits (34% better/23% worse).
Compared the last time this question was asked in October, the main shifts have been the economy overall (worse up from 50% to 55%) and job security (worse down from 61% to 53%).
Q. In the last two years, do you think your and your household’s income has gone up more than the cost of living, fallen behind or stayed even with the cost of living?
| Total | Work full time | Work part time | Income less than $600 pw | Income $600-$1,000pw | Income $1,000-$1,600 pw | Income $1,600+ pw | Oct 2014 | |||
| Gone up more | 15% | 18% | 17% | 12% | 13% | 18% | 19% | 13% | ||
| Fallen behind | 50% | 48% | 51% | 62% | 53% | 46% | 46% | 48% | ||
| Stayed even | 27% | 28% | 25% | 21% | 30% | 29% | 30% | 31% | ||
| Don’t know | 7% | 6% | 7% | 6% | 4% | 7% | 5% | 8% |
50% believe that, in the last two years, their income has fallen behind the cost of living. 27% think it has stayed even with the cost of living and 15% think it has gone up more.
62% of those earning under $600 pw and 53% of those earning $600-$1,000 pw think their income has fallen behind while 49% of those earning over $1,600 pw think it has stayed the same or gone up.
These results are much the same as when this question was asked in October.
Q. Which of the following statements best describes your financial situation?
| Total | Work full time | Work part time | Income less than $600 pw | Income $600-$1,000pw | Income $1,000-$1,600 pw | Income $1,600+ pw | Oct 2014 | |||
| I don’t have enough money for basic essentials like housing food and electricity | 8% | 5% | 11% | 20% | 8% | 6% | 4% | 7% | ||
| I have enough money for basic essentials but I cannot save any money | 39% | 37% | 37% | 51% | 44% | 36% | 34% | 35% | ||
| I have enough money for basic essentials and I can save a little money | 44% | 46% | 45% | 27% | 43% | 49% | 50% | 47% | ||
| I have enough money for basic essentials and I can save a lot of money | 7% | 10% | 5% | 2% | 3% | 8% | 11% | 8% | ||
| Don’t know | 2% | 2% | 2% | – | 2% | 1% | 1% | 4% |
44% say they have enough money for basic essentials and can save a little money and 39% say they have enough money for basic essentials but cannot save any money. Only 7% say they can save a lot of money.
Only 29% of those earning less than $600 pw say they can save any money – compared to 61% of those earning over $1,600 pw.
Overall, there has been a slight worsening in financial situations since this question was asked in October – 47% (up 5%) say they cannot save any money and 51% (down 4%) say they can.
Q. Do you think Tony Abbott is likely or unlikely to still be the leader of the Liberal Party at the next election?
| Total | Vote Labor | Vote Lib/Nat | Vote Greens | Vote other | Total Dec 2014 | Total Feb 2015 | |||
| Likely | 26% | 11% | 52% | 8% | 22% | 29% | 20% | ||
| Unlikely | 57% | 79% | 29% | 82% | 55% | 51% | 61% | ||
| Don’t know | 17% | 9% | 19% | 10% | 23% | 20% | 19% |
57% (down 4% since February) think that Tony Abbott is unlikely to still be leader of the Liberal Party at the next election and 26% (up 6%) think it is likely.
79% (no change) of Labor voters and 82% (up 12%) of Greens voters think it is unlikely and 52% (up 16%) of Liberal/National voters think it is likely he will still be leader.
Q. In general, how much attention do you pay to arrangements for your retirement income, such as your superannuation returns and fees, wealth management and other forms of long-term savings?
| Total | Men | Women | Aged
18-34 |
Aged
35-54 |
Aged 55+ | Mar 2014 | Jul 2014 | |||
| A lot of attention | 16% | 19% | 13% | 9% | 13% | 31% | 21% | 15% | ||
| Some attention | 38% | 40% | 35% | 37% | 39% | 35% | 35% | 33% | ||
| Not much attention | 26% | 22% | 29% | 29% | 32% | 12% | 27% | 29% | ||
| None at all | 16% | 16% | 17% | 19% | 12% | 19% | 15% | 16% | ||
| Don’t know | 4% | 4% | 5% | 6% | 4% | 3% | 3% | 7% |
16% say they pay a lot of attention to arrangements for retirement income and a further 38% say they pay some attention. 42% pay no or not much attention. This indicates a little more attention being paid to retirement income that when this question was asked in July.
Interest in retirement income increases with age – 31% of those aged 55+ are paying a lot of attention compared to just 9% of those aged 18-34.
Those on higher incomes also pay more attention to their retirement income – 62% of those earning $1,600+ pw are paying a lot or some attention compared to 36% of those earning under $600 pw.
Q. What type of fund is your main superannuation fund?
| Total | Men | Women | Aged
18-34 |
Aged
35-54 |
Aged 55+ | Jul 2014 | |||
| An industry fund | 43% | 43% | 43% | 43% | 50% | 32% | 39% | ||
| A retail fund | 18% | 21% | 15% | 18% | 22% | 12% | 19% | ||
| A self-managed fund | 8% | 8% | 8% | 5% | 7% | 12% | 9% | ||
| Don’t know | 13% | 12% | 14% | 22% | 11% | 5% | 15% | ||
| Don’t have any superannuation funds | 18% | 16% | 20% | 12% | 10% | 39% | 18% |
43% say their main superannuation fund is an industry fund, 18% a retail fund and 8% a self managed fund.
51% of those aged 25-44 are in an industry fund and 22% of those aged 35-54 are in a retail fund.
49% of those aged 65+ say they have no superannuation fund.