The Essential Report Archive Read the latest report

Preference for spending priorities

6 Aug 2019

Q. Recent Government commitments to provide a tax break for Australia’s top income earners will cost the country approximately $12B per year, whereas increasing the Newstart payment would cost an estimated $4B per year.

Given the above information, which of the following options would you prefer the Government prioritise its spending?

  Total Gender Age
Male Female 18-34 35-54 55+
Spend $12B a year to provide a tax cut for Australia’s top income earners 12% 16% 9% 15% 14% 8%
Spend $4B a year to increase the Newstart payment for those looking for a job 70% 68% 71% 64% 66% 77%
Unsure 18% 15% 20% 20% 20% 14%
Base (n) 1,102 543 559 348 374 380
  • 70% of the population would prefer spending on increasing Newstart be made a priority, compared to 12% who think the Stage 3 tax cuts should be a priority.
  • Participants aged over 55 were more likely to prefer the Government prioritise an increase to Newstart (77%) than 18-54 year olds (65%).
  Total Federal Voting Intention
Labor Coalition Greens NET: Other
Spend $12B a year to provide a tax cut for Australia’s top income earners 12% 6% 19% 9% 14%
Spend $4B a year to increase the Newstart payment for those looking for a job 70% 82% 61% 81% 68%
Unsure 18% 11% 20% 10% 18%
Base (n) 1,102 320 387 107 159
  • Labor voters were more likely than Coalition voters (82% versus 61%) to prefer the Government prioritise increasing Newstart over a tax cut for top income earners.
  Total Income
NET: Lower Income NET: Mid-Income NET: High Income
Spend $12B a year to provide a tax cut for Australia’s top income earners 12% 7% 15% 19%
Spend $4B a year to increase the Newstart payment for those looking for a job 70% 78% 71% 60%
Unsure 18% 15% 15% 20%
Base (n) 1,102 399 301 275
  • Lower income earners were more likely to prioritise increasing Newstart (78%) than high income earners (60%) – high income earners were over twice as likely to prioritise a tax cut for top income earners (19%) than lower income earners (7%).
Error: