The Essential Report Archive Read the latest report

Spending surplus to delay economic slowdown

29 Oct 2019

Q. Last week, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) forecasted that Australia’s national growth rate in 2019 will be 1.7%, lower than the 2.1% estimated earlier in the year.

Some people believe that this economic slowdown could be avoided by spending some of the federal surplus on infrastructure projects. Others think that the surplus shouldn’t be spent at all.

Which of the below is closest to your view?

  Total Gender Age
Male Female 18-34 35-54 55+
The Government should maintain the federal surplus at all costs to reduce the national debt 33% 41% 24% 37% 32% 29%
The Government should stimulate the economy to help prevent a downturn and delay the surplus 56% 53% 58% 49% 54% 64%
Don’t know 12% 5% 18% 14% 13% 8%
Base (n) 1,033 516 517 298 366 369

 

  Total Voting Intention
  Labor Coalition Greens NET: Other
The Government should maintain the federal surplus at all costs to reduce the national debt 33% 25% 47% 20% 29%
The Government should stimulate the economy to help prevent a downturn and delay the surplus 56% 66% 43% 62% 59%
Don’t know 12% 9% 10% 18% 12%
Base (n) 1,033 371 401 106 119
  •  Majority of participants (56%) think that the Government should stimulate the economy to help prevent a downturn and delay the surplus, while a third (33%) think the Government should maintain the surplus at all costs.
  • Those over 55 years old (64%), intending to vote Labor (66%) or Greens (62%) are more likely to say the Government should stimulate the economy than 18-34 year olds (49%) and Coalition voters (43%).
  • Participants with dependent children are more likely to say the government should maintain the surplus (40%) than those without dependent children (30%).
Error: