Australia's economy, Australia’s economy, economic management
Q Which party do you think is better at managing:
| Coalition | Labor | Neither | Difference (Coalition minus Labor) | |
| The economy to benefit big business | 53% | 22% | 26% | +31 |
| The economy generally | 40% | 31% | 29% | +9 |
| The economy to benefit small business | 36% | 35% | 29% | +1 |
| The economy to benefit older Australians | 32% | 35% | 33% | -3 |
| The economy to benefit people living in regional communities | 29% | 35% | 37% | -6 |
| The economy to benefit workers | 26% | 46% | 28% | -20 |
Q. Overall, how would you describe the current state of the Australian economy?
| Total | Vote Labor | Vote Lib/Nat | Vote Greens | Vote other | Dec 2016 | May 2017 | Nov 2017 | |||
| Total Good | 39% | 36% | 58% | 29% | 22% | 23% | 30% | 33% | ||
| Total Poor | 24% | 28% | 13% | 25% | 44% | 36% | 29% | 24% | ||
| Very good | 8% | 6% | 14% | 3% | 4% | 2% | 3% | 3% | ||
| Good | 31% | 30% | 44% | 26% | 18% | 21% | 27% | 30% | ||
| Neither good nor poor | 32% | 35% | 27% | 37% | 34% | 37% | 36% | 38% | ||
| Poor | 18% | 21% | 11% | 21% | 28% | 28% | 23% | 17% | ||
| Very poor | 6% | 7% | 2% | 4% | 16% | 8% | 6% | 7% | ||
| Don’t know | 5% | 2% | 25 | 8% | – | 4% | 5% | 5% |
Overall, 39% thought that the state of the economy was good (up 6% from November). 24% thought it was bad (no change).
58% of Liberal/National voters thought the state of the economy was good, compared to 36% of Labor voters, 29% of Greens voters and 22% of other/independent voters.
Q. Who would you trust most to handle Australia’s economy – The Treasurer Joe Hockey or the Shadow Treasurer Chris Bowen?
|
Total |
|
Vote Labor |
Vote Lib/Nat |
Vote Greens |
Vote other/ Indep-endent |
|
Aug 2014 |
|
| Joe Hockey |
26% |
|
5% |
62% |
6% |
14% |
34% |
|
| Chris Bowen |
25% |
|
49% |
6% |
42% |
10% |
23% |
|
| Don’t know |
49% |
|
46% |
31% |
52% |
76% |
43% |
26% have more trust in Joe Hockey to handle Australia’s economy and 25% have more trust in Chris Bowen. 49% don’t know who they would trust more.
This represents a 10-point shift in favour of Chris Bowen since this question was asked in August.
Australia's economy, economic, economic management
Q. Which party – Labor or Liberal – do you think is best when it comes to:
|
Labor |
Liberal |
No Difference |
Don’t Know |
Difference (Labor v. Liberal) |
|
Difference May 2014 |
|
| Representing the interests of Australian working families |
48% |
17% |
25% |
11% |
+31% |
+27% |
|
| Representing the interests of you and people like you |
35% |
27% |
27% |
11% |
+8% |
+10% |
|
| Standing up for the middle class in Australia |
30% |
28% |
27% |
15% |
+2% |
+14% |
|
| Representing the interests of the large corporate and financial interests |
9% |
59% |
19% |
13% |
-50% |
-41% |
|
| Being more concerned about the interests of working families in Australia than the rich and large business and financial interests |
47% |
15% |
24% |
14% |
+32% |
+29% |
|
| Handling the economy overall |
23% |
37% |
27% |
14% |
-14% |
-14% |
|
| Handling the economy in a way that tries to take the interests of working families into consideration as much as it takes the interests of the large corporate and financial groups |
34% |
23% |
27% |
15% |
+11% |
+10% |
|
| Handling the economy in a way that best helps small business |
24% |
32% |
27% |
17% |
-8% |
-5% |
|
| Handling the economy in a way that best helps the middle class |
25% |
32% |
28% |
14% |
-7% |
+1% |
|
| Handling the economy in a way that helps you and people like you the most. |
32% |
27% |
27% |
14% |
+5% |
+8% |
Labor was more likely to be selected as the party best at all of the items, except for ‘Representing the interests of the large corporate and financial interests’ (59% Liberal, 9% Labor), ‘Handling the economy overall’ (37% Liberal, 23% Labor), ‘Handling the economy in a way that best helps small business’ (32% Liberal, 24% Labor) and ‘Handling the economy in a way that best helps the middle class’ (32% Liberal, 25% Labor).
Since this question was asked in May, the main shifts have been for “Standing up for the middle class in Australia “ (Labor down 12%), “Handling the economy in a way that best helps the middle class” (Labor down 8%) and “Representing the interests of the large corporate and financial interests” (Liberals up 9%).
Australia's economy, trust to handle economy
Q. Who would you trust most to handle Australia’s economy – The Treasurer Joe Hockey or the Shadow Treasurer Chris Bowen?
|
Total |
|
Vote Labor |
Vote Lib/Nat |
Vote Greens |
Vote other/ Indep-endent |
|
| Joe Hockey |
34% |
7% |
73% |
10% |
19% |
|
| Chris Bowen |
23% |
44% |
4% |
43% |
22% |
|
| Don’t know |
43% |
49% |
23% |
47% |
59% |
34% have more trust in Joe Hockey to handle Australia’s economy and 23% have more trust in Chris Bowen. 43% don’t know who they would trust more.