When asked to name up to three issues that personally interest or concern them the most and that the Australian Government should focus on, more than a third (36%) of Australians describe issues related to the environment and climate change, before health, jobs and the economy.
This is similar to our last True Issues poll taken earlier in the 2019-20 bushfire season (34% in November), but substantially higher than our post-Federal election measure (22% in June), when the Royal Commission into Aged Care kept hospitals, healthcare and ageing most top-of-mind.
True Issues is a research tool to assist Australian businesses understand where their issues truly sit within the contemporary issues landscape. This poll was conducted as an online survey between 20 – 24 February among a representative national sample of 1,000 Australians aged 18+ years.
As this summer’s catastrophic fire season gave way to wild storms and floods, Australians’ thoughts turned to the public debate around the recovery of affected communities, vegetation and wildlife, the legacy of the long period of drought, the role of climate change in extreme weather events, and the need to address carbon emissions.
Hospitals, healthcare and ageing (24%), employment and wages (21%), and the economy and finances (18%) remain the next most important issues on Australians’ minds, tapping into public anxiety about the quality and affordability of health and aged care, and the general outlook for business and the economy over 2020.
The total number of Australians who want a focus on the economy, employment, or cost of living is four in ten (41%) – indicating a broad widespread concern about economic issues.
This was an excerpt from our latest True Issues report, to read the full report, click the link below.
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