New polling released today asked Australians about the federal government’s handling of the global financial crisis (GFC).

1,408 residents were asked about Australia’s economy during the GFC, in particular the government stimulus spending. Australians have strong positive views about the government’s GFC response overall.

Almost two thirds (62%) of Australians agree the GFC would have sent Australia into recession if the government did not take rapid steps to provide large fiscal stimulus (disagree 22%, don’t know 16%), while a majority (57%) agree that ‘Australians should be proud of how its government handled the GFC (disagree 24%, don’t know 19%).

[Polling brief – see PDF below]

“The GFC is the seminal economic event of recent times, and ten years on it is important not just to look the data, but to look at public opinion,” Executive Director of The Australia Institute, Ben Oquist said.

“The political legacy of the GFC can be seen around the world, with reactions to austerity programs creating political upheaval.

“As we approach the 10 year anniversary of the global financial crisis (GFC) it is important to be clear eyed about what happened in our financial sector, the policies that were implemented, the impact of those policies and that we learn the right lessons from history.

“Ten years on, it is important to reflect on what went wrong then and what is still going wrong now.

“Record low wage growth, underemployment and rising inequality all point to the need to reassess economic orthodoxy and begin looking for a new economic direction,” Oquist said.

POLLING: GFC and government stimulus (“to what extent do you agree or disagree?”)

Between 26 April and 5 May 2017 The Australia Institute conducted a national opinion poll of 1,408 people through Research Now, with nationally representative samples by gender, age and state or territory.