CPSU: No to Cuts and Privatisation - Latest Research

Feb 07, 2014

More than eight out of ten people support keeping government spending at their current levels, the results of an influential poll have found.

Only 12% of those questioned favoured government cuts, according to a recent poll conducted by the Australian National University.

More than 1100 people were asked if they wanted to see cuts to programs to reduce the “power of government” or whether government programs should be maintained to “deal with important problems”.

The results come as the Abbott Government gets ready to receive a draft report by the National Commission of Audit which is expected to recommend large scale cuts to services and the privatisation of government assets.

The CPSU has been campaigning hard to protect public sector jobs and services in the face of cuts and attacks from the Abbott Government, business lobby groups and free market think tanks.

Forty two per cent of those questioned in the ANU poll supported the current levels of spending, with a further 39% strongly supporting the view.

The results of the poll led the ANU’s Social Research Centre in Melbourne to conclude that “there is an overwhelming support for maintaining government programs at their current levels.”

The results also give a clear signal that there is little public support for the reduction of government services and comes off the back of another survey last month that voters remain deeply opposed to any privatisation.

Privatisation is regarded as a bad idea by 59% of voters, according to Essential Research in results published in late January. While Labor and Greens voters are more strongly opposed to it only 31% of Liberal voters think privatising government assets is a good idea.

Opposition to privatisation among all voters rose when some specific government services were mentioned such as Australia Post, and ABC and SBS. More than a 1000 people were surveyed.

The ANU research also found that the majority of people said that government was the most appropriate body to deliver services, such as health, education, a decent standard of living for the elderly, reducing poverty and managing the economy to avoid recession. Only a small minority – just 10% - thought the private sector is best placed to do any of the above – in this case managing the economy.