This week’s Essential Report reveals that economic gloom appears to be settling in among voters.
The proportion of voters who think the economy is heading in the right direction has fallen significantly since the budget, and for the first time since the GFC, more people think it is headed in the wrong direction (43%) than the right direction (37%), although there is a level of partisanship about the results: 66% of Labor voters think the economy is travelling in the right direction, while 65% think it’s going in the wrong direction. And for the first time since June last year, more people think their own personal financial situation will worsen — 36% — than will improve — 28% — over the next 12 months. On that question, partisanship is less clearly defined but still present — Labor voters are much more optimistic (34% “better” to 27% “worse”) than Liberal voters (25% to 45%) while Greens voters are far more optimistic than either — 41% expect their own circumstances to get better and 22% expect them to worsen.
Concerns about job security are also up, though much less than other economic indicators: 45% of people are concerned they or a family member may lose their job, up from 43% in April. Liberal voters were again more pessimistic — 50% were concerned, compared to 45% of Labor voters and 37% of Greens voters.
Labor still badly trails the Liberals on perceptions of economic management, with 43% of voters believing the Liberals were better at handling the economy in their interests than Labor (26%). The Liberals were also rated as better than Labor at balancing the interests of big business and voters — 30% to 23% — but were also considered much more likely to be concerned more about the interests of big business — 41% — than voters — 13%. Labor scored 33-22% on the same question.
The level of support for gay marriage has also risen, with support back up to 54% from March, when it had fallen to 49%, and opposition down to 35%. Green voters were most strongly in favour — 85% — but support was also strong among Labor voters, at 65%. Only Liberal voters were more likely to oppose than support, 48% to 41%.
On voting intention, another one-point rise for the Liberals has taken them further ahead of Labor. The Coalition primary vote is now 49% to Labor’s 32%. With the Greens still on 11%, the Coalition’s 2PP lead is now 56-44%, its biggest ever in Essential’s polling.
You must be polling a bunch of very unintelligent idealogues. Nothing in this report even makes sense. For a start, just about every country on the planet acknowledges that the Australian economy is the best in the world. What is it that these people want? Perhaps they should take the time to have a look at how bad some other countries are – even how people in the USA are travelling after the GFC. Talk about a spoilt bunch of whingers!
And as for saying they will vote 49% for the opposition if an election were held now – the mind boggles!! Where on earth did they get the idea that the opposition even knows how to spell economics, let alone understand it? If it is a matter of harking back to the “good old days” of the Howard government, then (a) it wasn’t good, and (b) the times have changed, and (c) Abbott is no Howard.
The MSM in this country has a lot to answer for, and while the current government needs to do more in explaining its policies and vision for the future, there is no guarantee, or even faint hope, that the media in all its forms won’t misrepresent, give false information, lack objectivity and generally demonise everything the government does. I’m beginning to think that Gillard needs a medal for endurance ( and I don’t even like her!!).
Gotta agree with CML, the polling is truly bizarre. Who can listen to Abbott’s vacuous shtick, or Barnaby’s fulminating idiocy and even possibly think to vote for them. Not to mention affable Joe’s meandering meaninglessness.
Oh, that’s right, the media keep telling us the economy is shite and the government is incompetent.
It’s as if the entire nation has become beholden to every whinger under the sun and the media has nothing better to do than amplify their bleatings.
Sigh.
The funny thing is, the government is not incompetent. Many significant bills have passed. An incompetent Coalition government couldn’t do that. But a competent coalition government could.
Evidence Amendment (Journalists’ Privilege) Act 2011
National Broadband Network Companies Act 2011
Telecommunications Legislation Amendment (National Broadband Network Measures—Access Arrangements) Act 2011
Sex and Age Discrimination Legislation Amendment Act 2011
Corporations Amendment (Improving Accountability on Director and Executive Remuneration) Act 2011
Education Services for Overseas Students Legislation Amendment Act 2011
The Gillard Government is no failure.
after the carbon tax is introduced what else can the opposition bang on about? i dont know what the libs stance is with gay marriage but you can bet if labor were to pick it up and run with it the libs would turn it into a political football…probably better to let the greens go with that one , the member for melbourne could introduce it, labor and indys could vote with it and bingo its through the senate. personally it doesnt bother me