Galaxy poll shows voters oppose increase of pension age to 70

    ELLEN WHINNETT
    Herald Sun
    May 04, 2014



THE Government has failed to convince Australians of the need to tighten their belts, with an exclusive poll showing voters are overwhelmingly ­opposed to plans to raise the pension age to 70.      

A Galaxy poll conducted exclusively for the Herald Sun shows 69 per cent of voters are opposed to the move.

More than half of Coalition voters polled - 57 per cent - did not support the pension age being lifted from 67 (taking effect in 2023) to 70.      

Just over a third - 34 per cent - were in favour of it. And 81 per cent of Labor voters were against it.

NEW POLL SHOWS PM WOULD LOSE AN ELECTION

The Government received slightly more support for its likely plan to introduce a $6 fee for people to attend a bulk-billed doctor’s appointment.

More than half the Coalition voters polled - 54 per cent - supported the move, while only 25 per cent of Labor voters supported it.

The Government is expected to use the May 13 Budget to introduce the new fee, which is likely to be somewhere between $6 and $15, for all trips to the doctor, although there would be a cheaper concession rate.

Treasurer Joe Hockey ­announced last week that the Government would raise the pension age to 70 years from 2035.      

Galaxy director managing director David Briggs said the results were similar across all age groups and both genders.

“What we are seeing is that it really doesn’t matter how you slice and dice it, the Government really hasn’t sold the idea of the austerity measures.”

Mr Briggs said the results might also reflect the fact that people seemed to identify qualifying for the pension as a rite of passage.      

“Maybe the general consensus is that you work all your life, and when you reach a certain age, you access the pension,” Mr Briggs said.

He said older voters polled were unhappy about the pension age rise, despite the changes not affecting them.

The Galaxy poll also looked at voting intention and showed that Prime Minister Tony Abbott would lose an election if it were held today.      

After weeks of talking up a”budget emergency” and revelations they were hatching plans for a new debt tax, the Coalition Government’s two-party preferred vote slipped to 48 per cent to Labor’s 52 per cent.

The September election saw the Abbott-led Coalition win by attracting 53.5 per cent of the two-party preferred vote to Labor’s 46.5 per cent.

The May 13 Budget will include a range of severe cost-savings measures, including cuts to welfare, tightening of eligibility for a number of benefits, and the likely debt tax as the Government looks to cut billions of dollars in spending from its bottom line.

Well said Dame Pansi,  putting the pension age up to 70, is a ridiculous idea.  It is clear that most people are opposed to it.      

lefties oppose everything the right suggest...

ho hum..shorty has hardly said a word has he.. in fact again he is almost invisible.. just comes out and bleats the same mantra..d.head

It's universally opposed.

Liberal voting pensioners aren't very happy with Tony at the moment.

cods wrote on May 5^th, 2014 at 8:01am:

And righties accept everything the left suggests?

Shorten has made some good speeches. Probably 2GB and Daily Terror don’t report them. Why should Shorten make a lot of noise now when the Libs are making hugs mistakes all the time. I think the electorate is tired of the empty noise the simian made the last four years and Shorten is obliging them.

The polls show the Libs are killing themselves all on their own and don’t need any help.

St George of the Garden wrote on May 5^th, 2014 at 9:04am:



well the point I am making he didnt oppose putting the age up to 67.. did he... and dont forget this wont take place tomorrow either..

but anyway I dont expect you to see the it.. so n o worries..

as for his speeches I only see what I see on TV and he hasnt been there has he??...

as for polls.. I dont take a bit of notice of them I am far too grown up...may as well put a medal on the kids that win the first heat..

I am trying to think did the labor govt do anything that was unpopular???>...we are expected to believe from the left on here that the CARBON TAX was what everyone wanted..

but tell me what made krudd so unpopular they killed him??????.... same with gillard???  we know it was the polls..

so what did they do wrong???..dont tell me the in fighting.. because if thats the case then they didnt learn a thing did they??..

I am trying to think what they did that was unpopular with the left???>.

the smokes and grog tax wouldnt have bothered them..........was it the boats?? nothing changed after the assassination so couldnt have been..

they did so much... this is what I dont understand

they were so great yet they got voted out with a bang... and we have massive debt..that if wqe asked a lefty what was that debt spent on.. you couldnt tell us???>..

do we have a bridge....or a dam....or a new highway..or hospital...or airport....or anything???..

I am open to you convincing me crook...or even shorty convincing me..I am not that rusted on...

and no I dont think 70 will be popular...

but neither was the caster oil I was forced to take as a kid...

Christ—you been at the cooking sherry already?

The debt we have is NOT massive. A small % of our GDP. The GDP that grew from $1.1Trn to $1.5Trn under Labor when nearly every major economy went backwards? We are now the world’s 12th largest economy.

Why do think the Libs bang on about the debt? Because Swan’s economic management was top class and that is why we have the 9As.

Ex Dame Pansi wrote on May 5^th, 2014 at 7:29am:

Yes you can't believe the idiocy of people in parliament these days.  Bad enough Labor have locked in a rise to 67, but 70 is just ridiculous.  And yes Mr briggs the people do think you should be allowed to retire before you reach 70.  I keep telling you the current pollie talent pool is shallow.