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  • May, 2012

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    Interest Rates

    Q. As far as you know, are interest rates currently higher or lower than when the Labor Government was elected in 2007?

     

    Total

    Vote Labor

    Vote Lib/Nat

    Vote Greens

    Total higher

    20%

    17%

    24%

    14%

    Total lower

    35%

    44%

    36%

    42%

    A lot higher

    4%

    3%

    6%

    1%

    A little higher

    16%

    14%

    18%

    13%

    About the same

    18%

    17%

    22%

    12%

    A little lower

    25%

    31%

    26%

    31%

    A lot lower

    10%

    13%

    10%

    11%

    Don’t know

    26%

    21%

    19%

    33%

    20% of respondents think interest rates are currently higher than when the Labor Government was elected in 2007 and 35% think they are lower. 18% think they are about the same.

    Respondents most likely to think interest rates are lower were men (44%) and those aged 55+ (51%). 39% of respondents aged under 35 didn’t know.

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  • May, 2012

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    Opinion of Interest Rates

    Q. In fact, the official interest rate is a lot lower – it is now 3.75% compared to 6.75% when the Labor Government was elected in 2007. Do you think it is good or bad that interest rates have fallen?

     

    Total

    Vote Labor

    Vote Lib/Nat

    Vote Greens

    Total good

    54%

    66%

    47%

    57%

    Total bad

    14%

    8%

    20%

    4%

    Very good

    19%

    29%

    13%

    21%

    Good

    35%

    37%

    34%

    36%

    Neither good nor bad

    24%

    21%

    26%

    28%

    Bad

    10%

    4%

    15%

    4%

    Very bad

    4%

    4%

    5%

    Don’t know

    9%

    4%

    6%

    11%

     54% think that it is good that interest rates have fallen – 14% think it is bad.

    61% of respondents aged 35-54 think the fall in rates is good compared to 37% of those aged 65+. There were not major differences across income groups.

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  • May, 2012

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    Credit for Interest Rates

    Q. How much credit do you give the policies of the Labor Government for this fall in interest rates?

     

    Total

    Vote Labor

    Vote Lib/Nat

    Vote Greens

    A lot

    7%

    19%

    2%

    9%

    A fair amount

    19%

    38%

    9%

    23%

    A little

    27%

    28%

    22%

    38%

    None

    35%

    7%

    59%

    15%

    Don’t know

    12%

    9%

    6%

    15%

    Only 26% give the policies of the Labor Government a lot or a fair amount of credit for the fall in interest rates. 35% give them no credit at all.

    57% of Labor voters and 11% of Coalition voters give the Government a lot or a fair amount of credit.

    Those most likely to give a lot or a fair amount of credit to Labor Government policies were men (30%), aged under 35 (31%), and incomes under $1,000pw (32%).

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  • May, 2012

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    Benefit from Casual/Contract Jobs

    Q. The number of people working in casual and contract jobs is increasing. Who do you think benefits most from the increasing number of casual and contract jobs?

     

    Total

    Vote Labor

    Vote Lib/Nat

    Vote Greens

    Workers

    7%

    6%

    8%

    3%

    Employers

    55%

    62%

    52%

    72%

    Both equally

    28%

    25%

    32%

    17%

    Don’t know

    10%

    8%

    8%

    8%

    A majority of respondents (55%) think that employers benefit most from the increasing number of casual and contract jobs. Only 7% think workers benefit most and 28% think both groups benefit equally.

    60% of full time workers and 49% of part-time workers think employers benefit most. Those on higher incomes are also more liklely to think employers benefit most (62% of those on incomes over $1,600pw). For those on low incomes (under $600pw),  54% think employers benefit most, 4% workers and 34% think both benefit equally.

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  • May, 2012

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    More Permanent Jobs

    Q. Do you think employers should be required to provide more permanent jobs (instead of casual and contract jobs) or is it a matter best left for the employer to decide?

     

    Total

    Vote Labor

    Vote Lib/Nat

    Vote Greens

    Should be required to provide more permanent jobs

    48%

    59%

    39%

    59%

    A decision best left to the employer

    41%

    30%

    52%

    33%

    Don’t know

    11%

    12%

    6%

    8%

    48% think employers should be required to provider more permanent jobs and 41% think it is a matter best left for the employer to decide.

    52% of full-time workers think employers should be required to provide more permanent jobs and 39% think it is a decision best left to the employer.

    44% of part-time workers think employers should be required to provide more permanent jobs and 41% think it is a decision best left to the employer.

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  • May, 2012

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    Class Warfare

    Q. The Federal Opposition has accused the Government of “class warfare” for criticising and increasing taxes for Australia’s richest people and companies. The Government says they are just trying to ensure that all Australians benefit from the mining boom and other wealth derived from Australia’s resources and economic development.  Which position do you most agree with?

     

    Total

    Vote Labor

    Vote Lib/Nat

    Vote Greens

    The Government

    46%

    77%

    20%

    77%

    The Opposition

    28%

    5%

    56%

    5%

    Don’t know

    26%

    18%

    25%

    18%

    28% agree with the Federal Opposition’s claim that the Government is carrying out “class warfare” and 46% agree with the Government’s position that they are just trying to ensure that all Australians benefit from the mining boom.

    Those on higher incomes were only a little more likely to agree with the Opposition. For those earning less than $600pw, 53% agree with the Government and 23% agree with the Opposition. For those on incomes over $1,600pw, 45% agree with the Government and 31% with the Opposition.

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  • May, 2012

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    Mining Boom

    Q. Has the mining boom been good or bad for –

     

    Total good

    Total bad

    Very good

    Good

    Neither good nor bad

    Bad

    Very bad

    Don’t know

    The economy generally

    75%

    7%

    30%

    45%

    12%

    5%

    2%

    6%

    Other Australian industries

    50%

    16%

    12%

    38%

    26%

    12%

    4%

    9%

    Jobs generally

    61%

    12%

    16%

    45%

    21%

    9%

    3%

    7%

    You personally

    21%

    10%

    6%

    15%

    60%

    7%

    3%

    9%

    A substantial majority think that the mining boom has been good for the economy generally (75%) and jobs generally (61%). 50% think that it has been good for other Australian industries.

    However, most (60%) think it has been neither good nor bad for themselves personally – 21% think it has been good and 10% bad.

    Those most likely to think the mining boom had been good for them personally were aged 25-34 (31%), full-time workers (26%) and those on incomes over $1,600pw (27%).

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  • May, 2012

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    Australian Industries

    Q. How much do average Australians benefit from having strong industries in each of the following sectors?

    Benefit a lot

    Some benefit

    A little benefit

    No benefit

    Don’t know

    Tourism

    45%

    30%

    11%

    4%

    10%

    Agriculture

    45%

    29%

    12%

    4%

    11%

    Construction

    44%

    32%

    11%

    3%

    10%

    Mining

    44%

    31%

    10%

    4%

    11%

    Manufacturing

    44%

    30%

    11%

    4%

    10%

    Retail

    40%

    34%

    11%

    5%

    10%

    Hospitality

    36%

    36%

    13%

    4%

    10%

    Finance

    34%

    34%

    15%

    5%

    11%

    Telecommunications

    31%

    36%

    17%

    5%

    11%

     Over 40% of respondents think the average Australian benefits a lot from having strong industries in tourism (45%), agriculture (45%), construction (44%), mining (44%) and manufacturing (44%).

    Major demographic differences were –

    60% of aged 55+ think there is a lot of benefit from manufacturing

    62% of aged 55+ and 50% of Labor voters think there is a lot of benefit from construction

    53% of aged 45-64 think there is a lot of benefit from retail

    60% of aged 55+ and 52% of Labor voters think there is a lot of benefit from tourism

    58% of aged 55+ and 48% of Coalition voters think there is a lot of benefit from mining

    57% of aged 55+ think there is a lot of benefit from agriculture

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