budget 2014, Deregulation of university fees, Federal Budget, Medicare co-payment, pension age, TAFE, youth allowance
Q. Do you support or oppose the following decisions that were made in the latest Federal Budget, announced on Tuesday 13th May:
|
Total Support |
Total Oppose |
Strongly support |
Support |
Neither support nor oppose |
Oppose |
Strongly oppose |
Don’t know |
|
| Deregulation of university fees (meaning universities can set their own tuition fees) |
17% |
58% |
5% |
12% |
21% |
24% |
34% |
4% |
| Commonwealth funding extended to students at TAFEs, private colleges and sub-bachelor degrees at a cost of $820 million over three years |
43% |
20% |
9% |
34% |
30% |
10% |
10% |
7% |
| $7 Medicare co-payment for all visits to the GP, with this money to be used to fund a Medical Research Future Fund. |
29% |
50% |
7% |
22% |
18% |
18% |
32% |
2% |
| General patients to pay $5 more and concessional patients 80¢ more for prescription drugs. |
23% |
58% |
5% |
18% |
18% |
26% |
32% |
2% |
| Eligibility for the age pension to rise to 70 by 2035 |
17% |
61% |
4% |
13% |
20% |
22% |
39% |
3% |
| A six-month waiting period for those under-30 before they can access the dole (Newstart) |
39% |
41% |
16% |
23% |
17% |
19% |
22% |
3% |
| Tightening eligibility criteria for disability support pensioners for those under 35 |
42% |
33% |
12% |
30% |
21% |
16% |
17% |
4% |
| University graduates to repay HELP debt once they earn $50,638 (reduced from $53,345) |
53% |
23% |
16% |
37% |
22% |
12% |
11% |
3% |
| Cut 16,500 full-time jobs from the public service in the next 3 years |
31% |
43% |
10% |
21% |
22% |
20% |
23% |
4% |
| Privatise the Royal Australian Mint |
18% |
42% |
4% |
14% |
31% |
18% |
24% |
10% |
| Make those under 25 apply for Youth Allowance, instead of Newstart (Youth Allowance is around $100 less per fortnight |
44% |
32% |
13% |
31% |
21% |
16% |
16% |
3% |
Q. Do you support or oppose the following decisions that were made in the latest Federal Budget, announced on Tuesday 13th May:
|
Vote Labor |
Vote Lib/Nat |
Vote Green |
||||
|
Total Support |
Total Oppose |
Total Support |
Total Oppose |
Total Support |
Total Oppose |
|
| Deregulation of university fees (meaning universities can set their own tuition fees) |
8% |
81% |
28% |
35% |
14% |
69% |
| Commonwealth funding extended to students at TAFEs, private colleges and sub-bachelor degrees at a cost of $820 million over three years |
37% |
27% |
54% |
13% |
49% |
8% |
| $7 Medicare co-payment for all visits to the GP, with this money to be used to fund a Medical Research Future Fund. |
10% |
74% |
56% |
21% |
18% |
67% |
| General patients to pay $5 more and concessional patients 80¢ more for prescription drugs. |
10% |
77% |
42% |
28% |
13% |
69% |
| Eligibility for the age pension to rise to 70 by 2035 |
7% |
80% |
31% |
37% |
13% |
62% |
| A six-month waiting period for those under-30 before they can access the dole (Newstart) |
24% |
60% |
65% |
15% |
17% |
64% |
| Tightening eligibility criteria for disability support pensioners for those under 35 |
32% |
49% |
62% |
15% |
26% |
46% |
| University graduates to repay HELP debt once they earn $50,638 (reduced from $53,345) |
39% |
36% |
74% |
8% |
40% |
33% |
| Cut 16,500 full-time jobs from the public service in the next 3 years |
15% |
64% |
57% |
16% |
18% |
59% |
| Privatise the Royal Australian Mint |
12% |
55% |
26% |
26% |
14% |
53% |
| Make those under 25 apply for Youth Allowance, instead of Newstart (Youth Allowance is around $100 less per fortnight |
25% |
52% |
72% |
8% |
28% |
47% |
Q. Do you support or oppose the following decisions that were made in the latest Federal Budget, announced on Tuesday 13th May:
|
Total Support |
Total Oppose |
Strongly support |
Support |
Neither support nor oppose |
Oppose |
Strongly oppose |
Don’t know |
|
| Spend $525 on a “green army” |
18% |
24% |
3% |
15% |
37% |
13% |
11% |
21% |
| Invest $2.1 million in solar projects in local communities |
59% |
11% |
15% |
44% |
25% |
7% |
4% |
6% |
| $100 million for mobile blackspot and wireless coverage in regional areas |
60% |
11% |
15% |
45% |
26% |
7% |
4% |
4% |
| A $120M cut to the ABC’s budget |
27% |
41% |
10% |
17% |
26% |
20% |
21% |
7% |
| Asylum seekers who have arrived by boat will lose the right to have their case independently reviewed or to have family reunions |
48% |
27% |
25% |
23% |
19% |
14% |
13% |
5% |
| Foreign aid frozen at current levels for two years, helping save $7.6 billion over five years |
64% |
13% |
28% |
36% |
18% |
6% |
7% |
5% |
| International commitment to spend 0.5 per cent of gross national income on foreign aid abandoned |
44% |
20% |
15% |
29% |
27% |
10% |
10% |
8% |
| $3.9bn over five years for major roads in Melbourne, Perth, Toowoomba, Adelaide and the Northern Territory |
55% |
15% |
13% |
42% |
26% |
9% |
6% |
5% |
| The HELP debt interest rate changed from CPI to the long term bond rate (an increase of around 1%) |
24% |
31% |
7% |
17% |
35% |
17% |
14% |
12% |
| Cut public funding for university courses by 20% |
18% |
49% |
5% |
13% |
29% |
25% |
24% |
4% |
Q. Do you support or oppose the following decisions that were made in the latest Federal Budget, announced on Tuesday 13th May:
|
Vote Labor |
Vote Lib/Nat |
Vote Green |
||||
|
Total Support |
Total Oppose |
Total Support |
Total Oppose |
Total Support |
Total Oppose |
|
| Spend $525 on a “green army” |
13% |
32% |
26% |
18% |
20% |
12% |
| Invest $2.1 million in solar projects in local communities |
59% |
11% |
61% |
11% |
77% |
3% |
| $100 million for mobile blackspot and wireless coverage in regional areas |
56% |
14% |
72% |
6% |
54% |
8% |
| A $120M cut to the ABC’s budget |
14% |
56% |
48% |
21% |
9% |
72% |
| Asylum seekers who have arrived by boat will lose the right to have their case independently reviewed or to have family reunions |
36% |
39% |
71% |
9% |
22% |
54% |
| Foreign aid frozen at current levels for two years, helping save $7.6 billion over five years |
52% |
22% |
83% |
3% |
51% |
33% |
| International commitment to spend 0.5 per cent of gross national income on foreign aid abandoned |
32% |
29% |
64% |
8% |
23% |
49% |
| $3.9bn over five years for major roads in Melbourne, Perth, Toowoomba, Adelaide and the Northern Territory |
49% |
19% |
70% |
7% |
42% |
27% |
| The HELP debt interest rate changed from CPI to the long term bond rate (an increase of around 1%) |
13% |
44% |
40% |
14% |
17% |
51% |
| Cut public funding for university courses by 20% |
8% |
66% |
32% |
28% |
12% |
71% |
The highest levels of opposition were registered for:
The items that more than 50% of Australians supported were:
The tables included demonstrate the various differences by voting intention.
Q. Do you think the Federal Budget has cut Government spending by too much, not enough or about the right amount ?
|
Total
|
|
Male |
Female |
|
Vote Labor |
Vote Lib/Nat |
Vote Greens |
Vote other |
|
| Cut spending too much |
41% |
42% |
40% |
69% |
11% |
55% |
48% |
||
| Not cut spending enough |
15% |
19% |
11% |
9% |
22% |
14% |
14% |
||
| Cut spending about right amount |
26% |
27% |
25% |
7% |
55% |
14% |
19% |
||
| Don’t know |
18% |
12% |
24% |
15% |
12% |
17% |
19% |
The largest proportion of Australian’s believes that the Federal Budget has cut Government spending by too much (41%).
26% believe that the Federal Budget has cut spending by the right amount, and 15% believe that they have not cut spending by enough.
There were no significant differences between the genders.
Labor (69%), Green (55) and other (48%) voters were more likely to think that the Federal Budget had cut spending by too much. Lib/Nat voters 955%) were more likely to think that spending had been cut by the right amount.
Q. Please indicate whether – in general – you agree with the following statements about the Federal budget that was handed down on Tuesday 13 May.
|
Total Agree |
Total Disagree |
Strongly agree |
Agree |
Neither agree nor disagree |
Disagree |
Strongly Disagree |
Don’t know |
|
| Overall, the budget was fair and balanced |
26% |
50% |
5% |
21% |
18% |
25% |
25% |
5% |
| The cuts in the budget were necessary to ensure Australia’s future prosperity |
41% |
35% |
13% |
28% |
18% |
20% |
15% |
6% |
| This was the budget Australia needed |
33% |
45% |
11% |
22% |
17% |
22% |
23% |
5% |
| This budget only cares about the bottom line and not people |
59% |
20% |
29% |
30% |
18% |
15% |
5% |
4% |
| This budget hurts the most vulnerable in Australia |
61% |
17% |
31% |
30% |
18% |
12% |
5% |
4% |
| This budget does not look after the needs of business |
18% |
32% |
4% |
14% |
37% |
22% |
10% |
12% |
| I would have preferred for this budget to focus on improving services to Australians rather than curtailing the deficit |
49% |
21% |
19% |
30% |
24% |
16% |
5% |
5% |
The highest levels of agreement with statements about the budget were for:
Half of Australians disagree with the statement that ‘overall, the budget was fair and balanced’ (50%).
fair and balanced, Federal Budget, hurts most vulnerable, Statements about the budget
Q. Please indicate whether – in general – you agree with the following statements about the Federal budget that was handed down on Tuesday 13 May.
|
Vote Labor |
|
Vote Lib/Nat |
|
Vote Green |
||||
|
Total Agree |
Total Disagree |
Total Agree |
Total Disagree |
Total Agree |
Total Disagree |
|||
| Overall, the budget was fair and balanced |
5% |
79% |
60% |
13% |
11% |
71% |
||
| The cuts in the budget were necessary to ensure Australia’s future prosperity |
15% |
58% |
80% |
6% |
20% |
52% |
||
| This was the budget Australia needed |
7% |
73% |
73% |
9% |
16% |
69% |
||
| This budget only cares about the bottom line and not people |
82% |
5% |
29% |
42% |
74% |
11% |
||
| This budget hurts the most vulnerable in Australia |
86% |
6% |
32% |
35% |
72% |
10% |
||
| This budget does not look after the needs of business |
23% |
31% |
15% |
31% |
14% |
31% |
||
| I would have preferred for this budget to focus on improving services to Australians rather than curtailing the deficit |
71% |
6% |
27% |
42% |
65% |
8% |
||
As the table indicated, Lib/Nat voters were more likely to agree with the positive statements about the budget, while Labor and Green voters were more likely to agree with the negative.
relations with indonesia, tony abbott
Q. How would you rate the performance of Tony Abbott and the Coalition Government in handling relations with Indonesia?
|
Total |
|
Male |
Female |
Vote Labor |
Vote Lib/Nat |
Vote Greens |
Vote other |
|
Nov 2013 |
|
| Total good |
25% |
29% |
22% |
7% |
54% |
10% |
15% |
29% |
||
| Total poor |
43% |
44% |
42% |
69% |
12% |
68% |
52% |
42% |
||
| Very good |
8% |
9% |
7% |
1% |
18% |
2% |
6% |
11% |
||
| Good |
17% |
20% |
15% |
6% |
36% |
8% |
9% |
18% |
||
| Neither good nor poor |
19% |
21% |
17% |
13% |
27% |
8% |
17% |
21% |
||
| Poor |
19% |
20% |
18% |
25% |
10% |
20% |
29% |
16% |
||
| Very poor |
24% |
24% |
24% |
44% |
2% |
48% |
23% |
26% |
||
| Don’t know |
13% |
6% |
19% |
11% |
8% |
13% |
16% |
8% |
Just 25% of Australians would rate Tony Abbott and the Coalition Government handling of relations with Indonesia as good.
43% would rate them as poor.
Males (29%) were slightly more likely to give the government a good rating.
Lib/Nat voters were more likely to rate them as good (54% good).
active governement, Role of Government
Q. Which of the following statements is closest to your view?
|
Total |
|
Vote Labor |
Vote Lib/Nat |
Vote Greens |
Vote other |
|
April 2012 |
|
| An active Government is necessary to provide important public services, and to protect ordinary Australians from unfair policies and practices on the part of large financial and/or industrial groups. |
65% |
68% |
66% |
77% |
61% |
67% |
||
| We don’t need big government and extensive regulation of business and finance to take care of these matters: the market itself can deal with many of these issues on their own. |
17% |
12% |
24% |
6% |
19% |
20% |
||
| Don’t know |
18% |
19% |
10% |
18% |
19% |
13% |
The majority (65%) of Australians believe that an active government is necessary to provide important public services, and to protect ordinary Australians from unfair policies and practices on the part of large financial and/or industrial groups.
Just 17% agree with the counter point, that ‘We don’t need big government and extensive regulation of business and finance to take care of these matters: the market itself can deal with many of these issues on their own’.
There has been no significant shift in attitudes since the last time this question was asked in April 2012.
Although Green voters were more likely to select the first statement (77%), the majority of Labor (68%) and Lib/Nat voters did so also.
budget emergency, Federal Budget
Q. Some people say that there is a “budget emergency” in Australia.
Which of the following is closest to your view?
|
Total
|
|
Vote Labor |
Vote Lib/Nat |
Vote Greens |
Vote other |
|
| I agree that there is a ‘budget emergency’ in Australia, and I believe that the recently announced budget changes will help bring the budget back into line. |
32% |
10% |
68% |
16% |
15% |
|
| I agree that there is a ‘budget emergency’ in Australia, but I don’t think the recently announced budget changes will help bring the budget back into line. |
24% |
29% |
14% |
25% |
37% |
|
| I do not believe we have a budget emergency in Australia |
32% |
51% |
12% |
50% |
36% |
|
| Don’t know |
11% |
11% |
6% |
9% |
12% |
Overall, 56% of Australians agree that there is a budget emergency.
32% agree that there is a budget emergency and that the recent budget will help bring the budget back into line. A further 24% agree that there is a budget emergency, but that the recent budget will not bring the budget back into line.
32% do not believe there is a budget emergency.
Labor (51%) and Greens (50%) voters were more likely to think that we do not have a budget emergency in Australia.
2PP, Greens, Labor Party, Liberal, two party preferred, 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 = 1,883 respondents
| First preference/leaning to |
Election 7 Sep 13 |
|
4 weeks ago 15/4/14 |
2 weeks ago 29/4/14
|
Last week 06/5/14
|
This week 12/5/14 |
| Liberal |
|
40% |
38% |
38% |
38% |
|
| National |
3% |
2% |
3% |
3% |
||
| Total Lib/Nat |
45.6% |
42% |
40% |
40% |
40% |
|
| Labor |
33.4% |
37% |
38% |
38% |
39% |
|
| Greens |
8.6% |
10% |
10% |
10% |
9% |
|
| Palmer United Party |
5.5% |
4% |
5% |
5% |
5% |
|
| Other/Independent |
6.9% |
7% |
6% |
8% |
8% |
| 2 Party Preferred |
Election 7 Sep 13 |
|
4 weeks ago 15/4/14 |
2 weeks ago 29/4/14
|
Last week 06/5/14
|
This week 12/5/14 |
| Liberal National |
53.5% |
50% |
48% |
48% |
48% |
|
| Labor |
46.5% |
50% |
52% |
52% |
52% |
NB. 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.