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Economy: Direct investment vs trickle-down approach
Q. Which of the following is closest to your view on the best way to create jobs and grow the economy?
Total | Gender | Age Group | ||||
Male | Female | 18-34 | 35-54 | 55+ | ||
The government should directly invest in the economy by creating projects and jobs, and raise the standard of living for the majority of workers | 69% | 67% | 70% | 57% | 66% | 81% |
The government should relax regulation and lower taxes for the wealthy to encourage businesses to grow and create jobs | 19% | 23% | 14% | 28% | 20% | 10% |
Unsure | 13% | 9% | 16% | 15% | 14% | 9% |
Base (n) | 1,066 | 531 | 535 | 340 | 341 | 385 |
Total | Federal Voting Intention | ||||
Labor | Liberal + National | Greens | TOTAL: Other | ||
The government should directly invest in the economy by creating projects and jobs, and raise the standard of living for the majority of workers | 69% | 72% | 66% | 77% | 75% |
The government should relax regulation and lower taxes for the wealthy to encourage businesses to grow and create jobs | 19% | 17% | 22% | 19% | 17% |
Unsure | 13% | 11% | 12% | 5% | 8% |
Base (n) | 1,066 | 332 | 433 | 91 | 111 |
- There is a majority preference for the government to directly invest in creating jobs and growing the economy.
- 69% opted for direct investment, while 19% preferred deregulation and lower taxes. 13% were unsure between the two options.
- There was no difference in the support for direct investment between men and women (67% to 70%), but men were more likely to select deregulation (23% to 14%).
- There were no differences in preference between voters of Coalition or Labor, with the majority of each all favouring direct investment (72% of Labor voters, 66% of Coalition voters).

COVID-19 RESEARCH
Read Essential's ongoing research on the public response to Covid-19.
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Two Party Preferred:
Labor
45%
Coalition
48%
In this week's report:
- Performance of Scott Morrison
- Performance of Anthony Albanese
- Preferred Prime Minister
- Top Federal Government priorities for 2021
- Uptake of a Covid-19 vaccine
- Perceptions of change in the standard of living for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples
- Changing views towards Australia Day
- Support towards a separate national day
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