Christmas, Christmas gifts, Christmas spending, income, personal finances, spending and income
Q. And now about Christmas spending – compared to last year, do you expect to be spending more on gifts at Christmas, less or much the same?
| Dec 08 | Dec 09 | Nov 10 | Dec 11 | |
| Will spend more | 3% | 11% | 10% | 13% |
| Will be spending less | 38% | 38% | 38% | 40% |
| Spend much the same | 55% | 47% | 48% | 44% |
| Don’t know | 5% | 4% | 5% | 3% |
Views about spending on gifts at Christmas remain similar to last year’s. 13% say they will spend more (up 3%), 40% spend less (up 2%) and 44% much the same (down 4%).
23% of those aged under 35 say they will spend more, 46% of those aged 35-44 will spend less and 56% of those aged 55+ will spend much the same. There is no significant relationship between changes in spending and income.
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.
economy, Essential Report, federal politics, GFC, Polling, polls, spending and income, stimulus spending
Q. If there is another Global Financial Crisis, do you think the Australian Government should undertake the same sort of stimulus spending they did in response to the 2009 GFC?
| Total | Vote Labor | Vote Lib/Nat | Vote Greens | |
| Yes | 36% | 48% | 26% | 56% |
| No | 39% | 24% | 56% | 23% |
| Don’t know | 25% | 28% | 18% | 21% |
In the event of another GFC, 36% support stimulus spending and 39% oppose. About half of Labor and Greens voters support stimulus spending but over half of Liberal/National voters oppose.
Lower income earners are more likely to support stimulus spending – those earning under $1,000pw split 43% support/32% oppose while those earning over $1,000pw split 34% support/42% oppose.
Essential Media, Essential Report, Greens, household earnings, Labor, Liberal, Nationals, perceptions, Polling, polls, spending and income, tax, welfare
Q. Do you agree or disagree with the following statements?
| Total agree | Total disagree | Strongly agree | Agree | Disagree | Strongly disagree | Don’t know | |
| Households earning more than $150,000 a year don’t need help through family payments | 67% | 27% | 29% | 38% | 20% | 7% | 6% |
| Households on high incomes pay high taxes so should get family payments for bringing up children | 33% | 61% | 7% | 26% | 41% | 20% | 7% |
| Welfare payments should only go to those on low incomes | 66% | 29% | 23% | 43% | 23% | 6% | 5% |
| All taxpayers, regardless of their income, should be eligible for some form of Government payment | 35% | 57% | 8% | 27% | 36% | 21% | 8% |
| Family payments aren’t really welfare – they just provide assistance for families raising children. | 60% | 32% | 14% | 46% | 23% | 9% | 7% |
| Welfare payments should be reduced for those who have been on them long term. | 41% | 48% | 15% | 26% | 33% | 15% | 12% |
| Welfare and family payments should be lower to encourage people to be more self-reliant and not rely so much on the Government | 40% | 50% | 12% | 28% | 35% | 15% | 9% |
| People on low incomes receiving welfare should have to justify how they spend it | 47% | 46% | 13% | 34% | 31% | 15% | 6% |
| Welfare for low-income families is different from family payments to middle-income families | 61% | 22% | 14% | 47% | 18% | 4% | 17% |
| The purpose of welfare payments is to reduce the difference in income between people with higher incomes and those with lower incomes | 40% | 49% | 8% | 32% | 36% | 13% | 11% |
About two-thirds of respondents agreed that “Households earning more than $150,000 a year don’t need help through family payments” (67%) and “Welfare payments should only go to those on low incomes” (66%). Although these statements were more strongly supported by Labor and Greens voters, 61% of Liberal/National voters agree that “Households earning more than $150,000 a year don’t need help through family payments”.
For households earning under $100K, 77% agree “Households earning more than $150,000 a year don’t need help through family payments” and 73% agree “Welfare payments should only go to those on low incomes”.
However, of households earning $150K+, 62% disagree that “Households earning more than $150,000 a year don’t need help through family payments” and 50% disagree that “Welfare payments should only go to those on low incomes”.
Although most respondents (60%) think that family payments are different from welfare benefits, only 33% agree that “Households on high incomes pay high taxes so should get family payments for bringing up children”.
Opinions are divided over issues regarding the obligations of people receiving welfare. 47% agree that “People on low incomes receiving welfare should have to justify how they spend it” and 46% disagree – 58% of Liberal/National voters agree but 55% of Labor voters disagree.
Christmas, Christmas debt, Christmas spending, EMC, ER, Essential Media, Essential Report, spending and income
Q. And now about Christmas spending – compared to last year, do you expect to be spending more on gifts at Christmas, less or much the same?
| Dec 08 | Dec 09 | Nov 10 | |
| Will spend more | 3% | 11% | 10% |
| Will be spending less | 38% | 38% | 38% |
| Spend much the same | 55% | 47% | 48% |
| Don’t know | 5% | 4% | 5% |
Views about spending on gifts at Christmas remain much the same as last year. 10% say they will spend more, 38% spend less and 48% much the same.
16% of those aged under 35 say they will spend more, 46% of those aged 35-44 will spend less and 59% of those aged 55+ will spend much the same. There is no significant relationship between changes in spending and income.