Blame game
New research shows that the more voters name cost of living and housing as their top concerns, the more they mark down the government’s performance on these issues. This is a problem for Anthony Albanese.
At the height of the Covid-19 pandemic in November 2020, just 52% of voters named the cost of living among their top five most important concerns, according to a poll by JWS Research.
And back then, the Morrison government’s performance on the issue was ranked at 43% (based on an index score in which “very good” is 100% and “very poor” is 0%).
Two months before the federal election in May 2022, the importance of cost of living had ticked up to 65% and the government’s performance on the issue had tracked down to 36%. Then, things got worse.
The latest survey conducted around the May budget shows 80% of respondents ranked cost of living in their top concerns and the Albanese government’s performance was way down on 26%.
