New polling data shows that the vast majority of Australians support lifting wages to keep up with rising inflation. The Australia Institute conducted a special exit poll, surveying a nationally representative sample of 1,424 Australians on the evening of Saturday May 21, following the federal election.
Key findings:
- An overwhelming majority of Australians (83%) support wage increases that keep up with cost of living; only 10% disagree — with strong support across all voting intentions
- 39% of respondents felt Labor was best placed to address wages and cost of living, compared to 26% for the Coalition
- Almost two in three Australians (65%) believe their nominal incomes have lagged behind inflation in the past year
“There is no economic basis for the view that wages keeping up with inflation will only cause further inflation,” said Dr Jim Stanford, Economist and Director of the Centre for Future Work.