03 September 2012, 030912, Labor Government, liberal government, low incomes, people with disabilities, Single parents, Small businesses, unemployed people
Q. Do you think the following groups of people would be better off under a Labor Government or a Liberal Government?
Better off under a Labor Government |
Better off under a Liberal Government |
Makes no difference |
Don’t know |
Difference (Labor minus Liberal) |
|
Pensioners |
36% |
20% |
29% |
15% |
+16 |
Unemployed people |
41% |
14% |
29% |
15% |
+27 |
People with disabilities |
36% |
16% |
30% |
17% |
+20 |
People and families on low incomes |
44% |
17% |
25% |
13% |
+27 |
People and families on middle incomes |
26% |
33% |
28% |
13% |
-7 |
People and families on high incomes |
11% |
54% |
21% |
13% |
-43 |
Single parents |
39% |
16% |
29% |
16% |
+23 |
Average working people |
32% |
27% |
28% |
13% |
+5 |
Large corporations |
9% |
57% |
20% |
14% |
-48 |
Banks and other financial institutions |
9% |
47% |
27% |
16% |
-38 |
Small businesses |
21% |
37% |
26% |
16% |
-16 |
Families with children at public school |
38% |
19% |
28% |
15% |
+19 |
Families with children at private school |
14% |
44% |
27% |
16% |
-30 |
Recent immigrants to Australia |
35% |
17% |
30% |
17% |
+18 |
Farmers and other agricultural producers |
19% |
32% |
31% |
19% |
-13 |
Respondents were substantially more likely to think the following groups would be better off under a Labor Government – unemployed, low income families, single parents and people with disabilities.
They were substantially more likely to think the following groups would be better off under a Liberal Government – large corporations, high income families, banks and financial institutions, families with children at private schools.
Groups better off under by Respondent Category
Respondent category (respondent or family member is in this category) | Groups better or worse off |
Better off under a Labor Government |
Better off under a Liberal Government |
Makes no difference |
Don’t know |
Difference (Labor minus Liberal) |
Pensioners | Pensioners |
41% |
25% |
26% |
8% |
+16 |
Unemployed | Unemployed people |
42% |
13% |
30% |
15% |
+29 |
Have a disability | People with disabilities |
44% |
18% |
31% |
8% |
+26 |
On low income | People and families on low incomes |
44% |
17% |
26% |
13% |
+27 |
On middle income | People and families on middle incomes |
25% |
37% |
27% |
11% |
-12 |
On high income | People and families on high incomes |
16% |
58% |
15% |
11% |
-42 |
Single parent | Single parents |
38% |
19% |
27% |
16% |
+19 |
Working | Average working people |
30% |
29% |
29% |
12% |
+1 |
Work for a large corporation | Large corporations |
11% |
57% |
18% |
14% |
-46 |
Work for a bank or other financial institution | Banks and other financial institutions |
23% |
45% |
16% |
16% |
-22 |
Work for a small business | Small businesses |
24% |
37% |
25% |
14% |
-13 |
Self-employed or own a small business | Small businesses |
24% |
40% |
20% |
17% |
-16 |
Have children at public school | Families with children at public school |
39% |
17% |
27% |
16% |
+22 |
Have children at private school | Families with children at private school |
21% |
42% |
22% |
15% |
-21 |
Recent immigrants to Australia * | Recent immigrants to Australia |
63% |
9% |
20% |
9% |
+54 |
Farmers and other agricultural producers | Farmers and other agricultural producers |
27% |
38% |
19% |
17% |
-11 |
* small sample – less than 100
This table shows groups affected mainly held views similar to the total sample. The main exceptions were that people with disabilities were more likely to think they would be better off under Labor, people working in banks/finance were more likely to think banks/financial institutions would be better off under Labor and people with children at primary school were more likely to think they would be better off under a Labor Government.