Australian economy, Essential Report, financial situation, GFC, global financial crisis
Q. How concerned are you about the impact of current movements in the share market on your financial situation?
| Total | Vote Labor | Vote Lib/Nat | Vote Greens | Income les than $600pw | Income $600-$1,000pw | Income $1,000-$1,600pw | Income over $1,600pw | |
| Very concerned | 16% | 13% | 21% | 6% | 12% | 17% | 16% | 16% |
| Somewhat concerned | 23% | 22% | 25% | 12% | 16% | 28% | 25% | 23% |
| A little concerned | 29% | 30% | 30% | 28% | 29% | 26% | 30% | 28% |
| Not at all concerned | 26% | 28% | 20% | 47% | 33% | 24% | 23% | 28% |
| Don’t know | 7% | 7% | 4% | 7% | 9% | 5% | 6% | 6% |
16% said they were very concerned and 23% somewhat concerned about the impact of current movements in the share market on your financial situation. 55% were only a little or not at all concerned.
Apart from those on very low incomes, there was not much difference across income groups – 28% of those earning under $600pw were very/somewhat concerned compared to 45% of those earning $600-1,000, 41% of those earning $1,000-1,600 and 39% of those on $1,600+.
Older respondents tended to be more concerned – 49% of those aged 55+ were very/somewhat concerned compared to 32% of 18-34’s and 38% of 35-54’s.
Australian economy, economy, Essential Report, GFC, global financial crisis, Polling, polls, spending and income
Q. Thinking about the state of the world economy, how do you think the Australian economy has performed over the last few years compared to other countries?
| Total | Vote Labor | Vote Lib/Nat | Vote Greens | |
| Total better | 70% | 77% | 70% | 85% |
| Total worse | 10% | 5% | 14% | 5% |
| A lot better | 31% | 41% | 27% | 48% |
| A little better | 39% | 36% | 43% | 37% |
| About the same | 16% | 17% | 15% | 8% |
| A little worse | 7% | 4% | 9% | 2% |
| A lot worse | 3% | 1% | 5% | 3% |
| Don’t know | 3% | 1% | 1% | 4% |
70% think that Australia’s economy has performed better than other countries over the last few years, 16% say about the same and 10% think it has been worse.
There were no substantial differences across demographic groups although those on higher incomes are a little more likely to believe it has performed better – 76% of those on incomes over $1,600pw compared to 67% of those earning under $1,000pw.
Australian economy, economic impact, economic issues, Essential Report, GFC, global financial crisis, Polling, polls
Q. How much impact do you think the economies of other countries have on Australia’s economy?
| Total | Vote Labor | Vote Lib/Nat | Vote Greens | |
| A lot | 47% | 44% | 49% | 46% |
| Some | 41% | 44% | 42% | 48% |
| A little | 8% | 10% | 7% | 6% |
| None | * | – | – | – |
| Don’t know | 3% | 2% | 2% | – |
47% think that the economies of other countries have a lot of impact on the Australian economy and 41% think they have some impact. Only 8% think they have little or no impact. There were no major differences across demographic groups.
economy, Essential Report, GFC, global financial crisis, Greens, Labor, Liberal, Nationals, Polling, polls, the economy
Q. Which party would you trust most to handle the economy if there was another Global Financial Crisis (GFC)?
| Total | Vote Labor | Vote Lib/Nat | Vote Greens | |
| The Labor Party | 27% | 77% | 3% | 41% |
| The Liberal Party | 43% | 6% | 86% | 3% |
| No difference | 19% | 13% | 9% | 42% |
| Don’t know | 10% | 4% | 2% | 13% |
43% said they would trust the Liberal Party most to handle the economy if there was another GFC, 27% would trust the Labor Party most and 19% said there was no difference.
Those aged under 35 were more likely to think there was no difference (25%) while those aged 55+ were more likely to prefer the Liberal Party (54%)
controlling interest rates, economic issues, economy, EMC, ER, essential report, global financial crisis, Housing affordability, Interest rates, Reserve Bank
Q. Which of the following statements most closely reflects your opinion on the cause of the recent increase in official interest rates?
| % | |
| The Reserve Bank independently sets interest rates to avoid inflation | 30% |
| It’s just a correction to the historic low interest rates during the Global Financial Crisis | 18% |
| The Federal Government has managed the economy well and the rate increase is a sign of a strong economy | 15% |
| The Federal Government has managed the economy badly and so rates are rising | 9% |
| The world economy is the biggest factor in interest rates, not the Australian economy | 9% |
| House prices are rising and pushing up interest rates | 5% |
| Don’t know | 15% |
When it comes to what the public perceive are the causes of the recent increase in official interest rates, 30% think that the Reserve Bank independently sets interest rates to avoid inflation and 18% think that interest rate rises are a correction to the historic low interest rates during the Global Financial Crisis. 15% think that the Federal Government has managed the economy well and the rate increase is a sign of a strong economy.
Only 9% think it is because the Government has managed the economy badly.
Coalition voters were more likely to think that the Reserve Bank independently setting interest rates to avoid inflation is the cause of the recent increase in interest rates (39%). Labor voters were more likely to think the increase in interest rates is because the Federal Government has managed the economy well and the rate increase is a sign of a strong economy (28%). Green voters were more likely to think the recent interest rate rises are just a correction to the historic low interest rates during the Global Financial Crisis (24%).