Q. Do you expect that the budget will be good or bad for you personally, or will it have no impact on you?
| May 2009 | April 2010 | |
| Total good | 19% | 11% |
| Total bad | 38% | 34% |
| Very good | 2% | 1% |
| Good | 17% | 10% |
| Bad | 30% | 27% |
| Very bad | 8% | 7% |
| No impact | 21% | 30% |
| Don’t know | 23% | 25% |
34% of people surveyed expect that the budget will be bad for them personally, 30% think the budget will have no impact, 11% think it will be good for them and 25% don’t know.
Coalition voters were more likely to think the budget will be bad for them personally (48%), while Labor (36%) and Green (45%) voters were more likely to think it will have no impact.
People aged 55 years and over were more likely to think the budget will be bad for them personally.
Compared to the 2009 survey, the number of people that expect the budget will be good for them personally has decreased by eight percent and the number, the number that think it will be bad has decreased by four percent and the number that think it will have no impact has increased by nine percent. Comments »
2PP, Family First, Greens, Labor, Liberal, Voting intention
Q. If there was a Federal election held today, to which party would you probably give your first preference?
Q. If you ‘don’t know’ on the above question, which party are you currently leaning to?
*1900 sample size
| 2 week average | % | 2PP | 2PP shift from last week |
| Liberal | 36% | ||
| National | 3% | ||
| Total Lib/Nat | 39% | 46% | – |
| Labor | 43% | 54% | – |
| Greens | 10% | ||
| Family First | 2% | ||
| Other/Independent | 7% |
NB. The data in the above table is derived from our weekly first preference voting question. Respondents who select ‘don’t know’ as their first preference are not included in the results.
* Sample is the culmination of two week’s polling data. Comments »
asylum, asylum seekers, immigration
Q. Do you think the Federal Labor Government is too tough or too soft on asylum seekers or is it taking the right approach?
| % | |
| Too tough | 6% |
| Too soft | 65% |
| Taking the right approach | 18% |
| Don’t know | 11% |
Most people (65%) think the Federal Labor Government is too soft on asylum seekers, 18% think the Government is taking the right approach, 6% think they are too tough and 11% don’t know.
Labor voters were more likely to think the Government is taking the right approach (31%), Coalition voters were more likely to think the Government is being too soft (90%) and Green voters were more likely to think the approach is too tough (24%).
56% of Labor voters and 25% of Green voters think the Government is being too soft on asylum seekers.
18 – 24 year olds were more likely to think the Government is taking the right approach (29%), while people aged 55 years and over were more likely to think the Government is too soft on asylum seekers (76%).
Males were more likely than females to think the Government is being too soft (69% v 62%).
When we asked a similar question in April last year, we found that 55% thought the Government was being too soft on asylum seekers, 26% thought the Government’s approach was about right and 4% thought the Government was too tough. Comments »
asylum, asylum seekers, Greens, immigration, Labor, Liberal
Q. Which party would you trust most to handle the issue of asylum seekers?
| % | |
| The Labor Party | 23% |
| The Liberal Party | 34% |
| No difference | 28% |
| Don’t know | 15% |
34% of people trust the Liberal Party most to handle the issue of asylum seekers and 23% trust the Labor Party more. 28% think there is no difference and 15% don’t know.
Results followed party lines – Labor voters were more likely to trust Labor (46%) and Coalition voters were more likely to trust Liberal most (77%). Green voters were more likely to trust Labor when it comes to handling the issue of asylum seekers (38%).
34% of Labor voters think there is no difference when it comes to which party they trust to handle the issue.
People aged 55 years and over were more likely to trust the Liberal party to handle the issue (49%), while those aged 18 – 24 were more likely to trust Labor (38%).
In November 2009, we asked people which party they think is best to handle the issue of asylum seekers. We found that 23% thought Labor, 27% thought Liberal and 37% thought there would be no difference in terms of which party would be best to handle the issue. Comments »
banks, first home buyers grant, Housing, Housing affordability, Interest rates
Q. Thinking about housing prices, which of the following is mainly responsible for the increase in Australian house prices?
And which is the second most responsible?
| Main | Second | |
| Shortage of housing | 33% | 20% |
| Overseas buyers | 19% | 15% |
| Low interest rates | 11% | 15% |
| The first home buyers grant | 8% | 14% |
| Real estate agents | 7% | 10% |
| Australian investors | 5% | 10% |
| Bank lending | 4% | 11% |
| Don’t know | 13% | 4% |
Most people think that a shortage of housing is mainly responsible for the increase in Australian housing prices, 20% think this is the second reason for the increase in house prices.
19% point to overseas buyers as being mainly responsible for the increase in Australian house prices, 15% think this is the second reason.
Coalition voters were more likely to think overseas buyers are mainly responsible for the increase in Australian house prices (22%), while Green voters were more likely to think Australian investors are mainly responsible.
People aged 35 – 44 were more likely to think low interest rates are most responsible (17%), people aged 45 – 54 think a shortage of housing is most responsible (40%), while those aged 65 years and over think that overseas buyers are most responsible for the increase in housing prices (26%).
Females more likely to indicate overseas buyers are mainly responsible (23%), while males were more likely to point to a shortage of housing as mainly responsible for increased house prices (39%). Comments »
Housing, Housing affordability
Q. Do you personally want house prices to increase, decrease or stay the same?
| % | |
| Increase | 28% |
| Decrease | 34% |
| Stay the same | 28% |
| Don’t know | 9% |
34% of people surveyed want house prices to decrease, 28% want prices to increase, 28% want house prices to stay the same and 9% don’t know.
Coalition voters were more likely to want house prices to increase (36%) while Green voters were more likely to indicate they want house prices to decrease (49%).
People aged 18 – 24 were more likely to want house prices to decrease (56%), those aged 25 – 34 were more likely to want house prices to increase (37%) and those aged 55 years and over were more likely to want prices to stay the same (40%). Comments »
economy, employment, job security, staffing
Q. Over the last 12 months, has the business you work for cut back on staff, increased staff or have staffing levels stayed much the same?
| % | |
| Increased staff | 13% |
| Cut back on staff | 26% |
| Stayed much the same | 57% |
| Don’t know | 4% |
N=532
Only asked to those in employment
For those currently employed, over half (57%) indicated that staffing levels have stayed much the same at their place of employment. 26% indicated that over the past 12 months, the business they work for has cut back on staff, 13% indicated that staffing levels have increased and 4% don’t know.
There were no significant differences in terms of public or private workplaces; however people employed in the public sector were slightly more likely than those in the private sector to indicate there has been a cut back on staff in their workplace (29% v 25%). Comments »
economy, inflation, Interest rates, profits, unemployment
Q. How important are each of the following for Australia to have a strong economy?
| Very important | Somewhat important | Not so important | Don’t know | |
| Low inflation | 43% | 42% | 5% | 10% |
| Low unemployment rate | 57% | 33% | 3% | 6% |
| Increased company profits | 17% | 46% | 26% | 11% |
| Low interest rates | 38% | 43% | 10% | 9% |
| A reduction in Government spending | 35% | 38% | 19% | 9% |
| Higher GDP | 27% | 41% | 6% | 26% |
| Increasing share prices | 20% | 40% | 23% | 16% |
| Increased wages for workers | 30% | 48% | 15% | 7% |
Over half (57%) of those surveyed think that low unemployment rates is a very important for Australia to have a strong economy, 43% think low inflation is very important and 38% think low interest rates are very important.
Labor voters were more likely to think that increased wages for workers are very important for Australia to have a strong economy (36%).
Coalition voters were more likely to think that increased company profits (22%), a reduction in Government spending (48%) and an increasing in share prices (23%) are very important for Australia to have a strong economy.
There were no substantial differences amongst the various demographic groups. Comments »