Voters’ message clear: ease cost of living now

The cost of living is now the greatest concern for most voters, with 37 per cent saying it should be the government’s top priority.

Amid high energy prices and stagnant private sector wage growth, a Newspoll shows 37 per cent of voters named cost of living as the most important issue.

The cost of living is now the greatest concern for voters, with a ­majority claiming it should be the federal government’s top priority.

Amid high energy prices and stagnant private sector wage growth, an exclusive Newspoll commissioned by The Australian shows 37 per cent of voters named cost of living as the most important issue, with 19 per cent citing economic management.

Climate change ranked as the second-most important issue, with 20 per cent saying it was their greatest concern, putting it ahead of border protection and urban congestion as the chief issues for government.

On a breakdown of which party voters claimed to be aligned with, 25 per cent of Labor voters and 9 per cent of Coalition voters named climate change as the issue that should be prioritised.

Infrastructure, including rail and roads, was the main concern for 11 per cent of voters, reflecting frustration in capital cities over congestion and population growth.

Border protection ranked last on the shortlist of five at 8 per cent. Only 5 per cent were uncommitted on any issue.

The poll is the first to rank voter priorities for the newly elected Morrison government.

For the first time, Coalition ­voters cited cost of living ahead of economic management on their list of priorities.

 

A total of 31 per cent of ­Coalition voters named cost of living compared with 28 per cent who cited economic management.

This is despite the release of the national accounts last week showing softening economic growth.

The government has sought to address cost-of-living issues through its $158bn income tax cuts and further legislation to be introduced next week to crack down on gouging and market manipulation by energy companies. Labor has identified wage growth as a ­priority.

Previous polls have ranked the economy and managing the budget as the most pressing issue for Coalition voters.

It still remained higher among Coalition supporters compared with Labor voters.

Among those who identified as Labor voters, 44 per cent cited cost of living as the top priority, 25 per cent nominated climate change and 14 per cent economic management.

The difference between party-aligned voters was stark on infrastructure, with 16 per cent of Coalition voters citing this issue compared with 9 per cent of Labor voters.

A similar split emerged on border protection, with 11 per cent of Coalition voters backing it as the chief issue for government compared with only 5 per cent of Labor voters.

Women were more likely to cite cost of living as the top ­priority, 39 per cent to 34 per cent.

There was no divergence when it came to border security and ­climate change, and only a slight weighting towards men, 20 per cent versus 18 per cent, on economic management.

More men than women (14 per cent to 8 per cent) named infrastructure above all other priorities.

The Newspoll is the third to be conducted since the election and surveyed 1661 voters across city and country areas from September 5 to 7.

It involved 956 online surveys and 705 robo interviews with a margin of error plus or minus of 2.4 per cent.