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  • Jun, 2010

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    Influence of Groups

    Q. How much influence do you think the following groups have on the policies of Australian political parties?

    Too much About the right amount Not enough Don’t know
    The media 53% 27% 5% 15%
    Banks 50% 28% 5% 18%
    Business lobby groups 40% 33% 5% 21%
    Mining companies 40% 33% 10% 17%
    Unions 40% 33% 12% 14%
    Religious groups 38% 29% 11% 21%
    Environment groups 25% 31% 29% 15%

    About half the respondents believed that the media (53%) and banks (50%) have too much influence on the policies of Australian political parties.

    40% believed that business lobby groups, mining companies and unions have too much influence.

    Only 25% thought environmental groups have too much influence and 29% think they have not enough influence.

    There were substantial differences by party preference on the influence of business lobby groups (Labor 52% too much, Lib/Nat 28%), unions (26%/61%), and mining companies (57%/26%). However, there was little difference on the perceived influence of the media (Labor 57% too much, Lib/Nat 56%) and banks (53%/51%). Comments »

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