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Decisions made in the Budget

20 May 2014

Decisions made in the Budget (1)

Q. Do you support or oppose the following decisions that were made in the latest Federal Budget, announced on Tuesday 13th May:

 

Total Support

Total Oppose

Strongly support

Support

Neither support nor oppose

Oppose

Strongly oppose

Don’t know

Deregulation of university fees (meaning universities can set their own tuition fees)

17%

58%

5%

12%

21%

24%

34%

4%

Commonwealth funding extended to students at TAFEs, private colleges and sub-bachelor degrees at a cost of $820 million over three years

43%

20%

9%

34%

30%

10%

10%

7%

$7 Medicare co-payment for all visits to the GP, with this money to be used to fund a Medical Research Future Fund.

29%

50%

7%

22%

18%

18%

32%

2%

General patients to pay $5 more and concessional patients 80¢ more for prescription drugs.

23%

58%

5%

18%

18%

26%

32%

2%

Eligibility for the age pension to rise to 70 by 2035

17%

61%

4%

13%

20%

22%

39%

3%

A six-month waiting period for those under-30 before they can access the dole (Newstart)

39%

41%

16%

23%

17%

19%

22%

3%

Tightening eligibility criteria for disability support pensioners for those under 35

42%

33%

12%

30%

21%

16%

17%

4%

University graduates to repay HELP debt once they earn $50,638 (reduced from $53,345)

53%

23%

16%

37%

22%

12%

11%

3%

Cut 16,500 full-time jobs from the public service in the next 3 years

31%

43%

10%

21%

22%

20%

23%

4%

Privatise the Royal Australian Mint

18%

42%

4%

14%

31%

18%

24%

10%

Make those under 25 apply for Youth Allowance, instead of Newstart (Youth Allowance is around $100 less per fortnight

44%

32%

13%

31%

21%

16%

16%

3%

 

Decisions made in the Budget (1) (by voting intention)

Q. Do you support or oppose the following decisions that were made in the latest Federal Budget, announced on Tuesday 13th May:

 

Vote Labor

Vote Lib/Nat

Vote Green

 

Total Support

Total Oppose

Total Support

Total Oppose

Total Support

Total Oppose

Deregulation of university fees (meaning universities can set their own tuition fees)

8%

81%

28%

35%

14%

69%

Commonwealth funding extended to students at TAFEs, private colleges and sub-bachelor degrees at a cost of $820 million over three years

37%

27%

54%

13%

49%

8%

$7 Medicare co-payment for all visits to the GP, with this money to be used to fund a Medical Research Future Fund.

10%

74%

56%

21%

18%

67%

General patients to pay $5 more and concessional patients 80¢ more for prescription drugs.

10%

77%

42%

28%

13%

69%

Eligibility for the age pension to rise to 70 by 2035

7%

80%

31%

37%

13%

62%

A six-month waiting period for those under-30 before they can access the dole (Newstart)

24%

60%

65%

15%

17%

64%

Tightening eligibility criteria for disability support pensioners for those under 35

32%

49%

62%

15%

26%

46%

University graduates to repay HELP debt once they earn $50,638 (reduced from $53,345)

39%

36%

74%

8%

40%

33%

Cut 16,500 full-time jobs from the public service in the next 3 years

15%

64%

57%

16%

18%

59%

Privatise the Royal Australian Mint

12%

55%

26%

26%

14%

53%

Make those under 25 apply for Youth Allowance, instead of Newstart (Youth Allowance is around $100 less per fortnight

25%

52%

72%

8%

28%

47%

Decisions made in the Budget (2)

Q. Do you support or oppose the following decisions that were made in the latest Federal Budget, announced on Tuesday 13th May:

 

Total Support

Total Oppose

Strongly support

Support

Neither support nor oppose

Oppose

Strongly oppose

Don’t know

Spend $525 on a “green army”

18%

24%

3%

15%

37%

13%

11%

21%

Invest $2.1 million in solar projects in local communities

59%

11%

15%

44%

25%

7%

4%

6%

$100 million for mobile blackspot and wireless coverage in regional areas

60%

11%

15%

45%

26%

7%

4%

4%

A $120M cut to the ABC’s budget

27%

41%

10%

17%

26%

20%

21%

7%

Asylum seekers who have arrived by boat will lose the right to have their case independently reviewed or to have family reunions

48%

27%

25%

23%

19%

14%

13%

5%

Foreign aid frozen at current levels for two years, helping save $7.6 billion over five years

64%

13%

28%

36%

18%

6%

7%

5%

International commitment to spend 0.5 per cent of gross national income on foreign aid abandoned

44%

20%

15%

29%

27%

10%

10%

8%

$3.9bn over five years for major roads in Melbourne, Perth, Toowoomba, Adelaide and the Northern Territory

55%

15%

13%

42%

26%

9%

6%

5%

The HELP debt interest rate changed from CPI to the long term bond rate (an increase of around 1%)

24%

31%

7%

17%

35%

17%

14%

12%

Cut public funding for university courses by 20%

18%

49%

5%

13%

29%

25%

24%

4%

 

Decisions made in the Budget (2) (by voting intention)

Q. Do you support or oppose the following decisions that were made in the latest Federal Budget, announced on Tuesday 13th May:

 

Vote Labor

Vote Lib/Nat

Vote Green

 

Total Support

Total Oppose

Total Support

Total Oppose

Total Support

Total Oppose

Spend $525 on a “green army”

13%

32%

26%

18%

20%

12%

Invest $2.1 million in solar projects in local communities

59%

11%

61%

11%

77%

3%

$100 million for mobile blackspot and wireless coverage in regional areas

56%

14%

72%

6%

54%

8%

A $120M cut to the ABC’s budget

14%

56%

48%

21%

9%

72%

Asylum seekers who have arrived by boat will lose the right to have their case independently reviewed or to have family reunions

36%

39%

71%

9%

22%

54%

Foreign aid frozen at current levels for two years, helping save $7.6 billion over five years

52%

22%

83%

3%

51%

33%

International commitment to spend 0.5 per cent of gross national income on foreign aid abandoned

32%

29%

64%

8%

23%

49%

$3.9bn over five years for major roads in Melbourne, Perth, Toowoomba, Adelaide and the Northern Territory

49%

19%

70%

7%

42%

27%

The HELP debt interest rate changed from CPI to the long term bond rate (an increase of around 1%)

13%

44%

40%

14%

17%

51%

Cut public funding for university courses by 20%

8%

66%

32%

28%

12%

71%

Decisions in the Budget: Comments

The highest levels of opposition were registered for:

  • Eligibility for the age pension to rise to 70 by 2035 (61% oppose, 17% support)
  • Deregulation of university fees (meaning universities can set their own tuition fees) (58% oppose, 17% support)
  • General patients to pay $5 more and concessional patients 80¢ more for prescription drugs (58% oppose, 23% support)
  • $7 Medicare co-payment for all visits to the GP, with this money to be used to fund a Medical Research Future Fund (50% oppose, 29% support)

The items that more than 50% of Australians supported were:

  • University graduates to repay HELP debt once they earn $50,638 (reduced from $53,345) (53% support, 23% oppose)
  • $3.9bn over five years for major roads in Melbourne, Perth, Toowoomba, Adelaide and the Northern Territory (55% support, 15% oppose)
  • Invest $2.1 million in solar projects in local communities (59% support, 11% oppose)
  • $100 million for mobile blackspot and wireless coverage in regional areas (60% support, 11% oppose)
  • Foreign aid frozen at current levels for two years, helping save $7.6 billion over five years (64% support, 13% oppose)

The tables included demonstrate the various differences by voting intention.


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