C o m m u n i t y p u l s e

2018

queensland

economic disconnect

the

Community pulse 2018: the economic disconnect

q u e e n s l a n d

About this publicationCommunity pulse 2018: the economic disconnect – Queensland © CEDA 2018 ISBN: 0 85801 320 7

CEDA’s objective in publishing this collection is to encourage constructive debate and discussion on matters of national economic importance. Persons who rely upon the material published do so at their own risk.

design Robyn Zwar Design

Photography Cover: Top row, middle left and bottom row: iStock

Middle centre: Steve Design/Shutterstock.com

Middle right: Greyboots40/Shutterstock.com

Page 5: iStock

About CEDACEDA – the Committee for Economic Development of Australia – is a national, independent, member-based organisation providing thought leadership and policy perspectives on the economic and social issues affecting Australia.

We achieve this through a rigorous and evidence-based research agenda, and forums and events that deliver lively debate and critical perspectives.

CEDA’s membership includes more than 750 of Australia’s leading businesses and organisations, and leaders from a wide cross-section of industries and academia. It allows us to reach major decision makers across the private and public sectors.

CEDA is an independent not-for-profit organisation, founded in 1960 by leading Australian economist Sir Douglas Copland. Our funding comes from membership fees, events and sponsorship.

CEDA – the Committee for Economic Development of Australia Level 13, 440 Collins Street Melbourne 3000 Australia Telephone: +61 3 9662 3544 Fax: +61 3 9663 7271 Email: info@ceda.com.au Web: ceda.com.au

5

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Queensland results

6

State profile – Queensland

Gross state product (2016–17) $327 billion

Percentage of national economy 18.6 per cent

average weekly earnings (november 2017) $1525.20

unemployment rate (May) 6.2 per cent

Population (september 2017) 4.95 million

Population in capital city (2016) 2.36 million

Population growth (2012–17) 0.356 million

Population over 65 years old 0.742 million

annual Government expenditure (2018–19) $57.59 billion

largest industries Construction, healthcare, mining, financial services, manufacturing

Source: ABS, State Budget papers

This brief paper summarises Queensland results of

nation-wide polling exploring Australians’ attitudes to work,

education, health, community and the economy.

The full results are contained in the report Community

pulse 2018: the economic disconnect. This Queensland

summary is a companion paper to the main report.

Additional state-specific papers have been produced

to summarise results from New South Wales, Victoria,

South Australia and Western Australia. Community pulse

2018: the economic disconnect and companion reports

are available from www.ceda.com.au.

Introduction

7

Attitudes to recent economic growth and development

Who has benefited from 26 years of economic growth? • Compared to the national results, Queensland residents were less likely to

believe that Australian shareholders have gained (either a little or a lot) from

recent economic growth – 72 per cent vs 77 per cent nationally.

• Around 42 per cent of Queenslanders believe they have gained personally

(either a little or a lot) from recent economic growth, which is below the national

average (45 per cent).

• Queenslanders were less likely to believe that different groups across the com-

munity had gained from recent economic growth compared to the national

results.

FigurE 1 Who hAs gAinED From 26 yEArs oF EConomiC groWth? (% oF rEsponDEnts)*

*Please note numbers have been rounded and may not equal 100 per cent

Don't know Not gained at all Gained a little Gained a lot

Small and medium sized businesses

Large corporations

Non-working citizens

Blue collar workers

White collar workers

Senior executives

Foreign shareholders

Australian shareholders

People like you

You personally 5

5

30

51

75

30

11

8

71

7 55 21 16

13 2 14

26 47 19

46 25 18

43 10 16

9 2 13

23 1 25

42 7 21

44 37 14

37 45 14

8

Personal issues of greatest importance to Queenslanders

issues of greatest importance• in addition to the top six personal issues nationally (basic health services,

essential services, affordable housing, chronic disease services, job security

and reduced violence), Queenslanders place increased importance on:

– regional development

– employment opportunities for young adults.

issues that are most contested• Queenslanders are most divided over access to affordable private health insur-

ance, the importance of work/life balance, a robust social safety net, the need

for regular pay rises and tax avoidance.

• Queensland has more personal priorities which are contested than other

jurisdictions.

• At the national level people were most divided over access to affordable private

health insurance and a robust social safety net.

National issues of greatest importance to Queenslanders

issues of greatest importance• in addition to the top national issues across the population (public hospitals,

limiting foreign ownership, aged care and increased pensions) Queenslanders

place increased importance on tough criminal laws and protection of national

parks.

• Compared to the whole population, Queensland residents place less relative

importance on high quality and accessible public transport.

issues that are most contested• Queenslanders are most divided over lower immigration and foreign working

visas, in line with trends at a national level.

9

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Very dissatisfiedSomewhat dissatisfiedNeither satisfied nor dissatisfiedSomewhat satisfiedVery satisfied

Conditions in the workplace (e.g. wellbeing, safety, support etc)

Your opportunities for career progression

The level of job training/development from your employer

Other benefits, such as superannuation, sick pay, holiday pay

Your current level of pay per hour (on average) 13

18

19

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28 37 22 9 5

32 29 17 10

27 33 12 9

31 26 17 8

33 26 19 9

HIG

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13

Fig

ur

E 5

rElA

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Queenslanders’ attitudes to work

Work satisfaction• Queensland workers are less satisfied (very + somewhat) with a number of

aspects of their work than the national population:

– current level of pay (46 per cent satisfied vs 53 per cent nationally)

– other benefits such as superannuation (49 per cent vs 57 per cent)

– level of job training (46 per cent vs 50 per cent)

– conditions in the workplace (65 per cent vs 69 per cent).

Work/life balance• 67 per cent of Queensland workers are satisfied (very + somewhat) with their

travel time to and from work, compared to 63 per cent nationally. they are least

satisfied with flexibility to work from home, reflecting the national trend in the

results.

Commuting• 85 per cent of Queensland workers have a commute to work of less than an

hour (nationally this was 81 per cent).

• 73 per cent of Queensland respondents drive to work (nationally this was

67 per cent).

FigurE 6 sAtisFACtion With DiFFErEnt AspECts oF Work (%)

FigurE 7 sAtisFACtion With DiFFErEnt AspECts oF Work/liFE bAlAnCE (%)

Very dissatisfiedSomewhat dissatisfiedNeither satisfied nor dissatisfiedSomewhat satisfiedVery satisfied

Conditions in the workplace (e.g. wellbeing, safety, support etc)

Your opportunities for career progression

The level of job training/development from your employer

Other benefits, such as superannuation, sick pay, holiday pay

Your current level of pay per hour (on average) 13

18

19

12

28 37 22 9 5

32 29 17 10

27 33 12 9

31 26 17 8

33 26 19 9

Very dissatisfiedSomewhat dissatisfiedNeither satisfied nor dissatisfiedSomewhat satisfiedVery satisfied

Flexibility to take holidays when desired

Flexibility to take personal leave

Flexibility to work from home

Travel time to and from work 37

17

32

27 34 22 10 7

33 21 7 7

13 38 15 18

30 15 15 4

14

technology• Queenslanders are in some respects less optimistic than the general population

about the impact of technology on their job.

• 71 per cent would welcome new technology in their job in line with national

trends but 13 per cent are worried they won’t have the skills to use new technol-

ogy (nine per cent nationally).

Future jobs• like most Australians, Queenslanders place greatest priority on more jobs overall

and more permanent jobs for future job creation (Figure 8). Queenslanders place

slightly less importance on more innovative jobs (eight per cent vs 11 per cent

nationally).

• When looking for a job, consistent with national trends, conditions in the work-

place are the most important factor. However, Queenslanders are much more

likely to rank ‘opportunities for career progression’ as very important (55 per

cent compared to 42 per cent nationally).

FigurE 8 WhiCh oF thE FolloWing is most CritiCAl For FuturE job CrEAtion?

More innovative jobs in new, cutting-edge sectors

More jobs in ethical and environmentally-sustainable businesses

More permanent jobs, to reduce work insecurity

Higher wages, so more people can share the economic gains

More entry-level jobs, for school leavers

More jobs overall, to reduce unemployment

8

8

26

11

12

34

Notes on methodology and sample

• total sample; Weight: QlD Weight; base n = 400; total n = 3000.

• For Queensland, the margin of area at the 95 per cent confidence interval is

+/-4.9 per cent.

• this Queensland results profile is supplementary to Community Pulse 2018:

the economic disconnect. A full description of the methodology and sample is

available in this report at pages 47 to 55.

15

Acknowledgements

CEDA would like to acknowledge members and individuals who contributed to

CEDA’s general research fund between 2 June 2017 and 1 June 2018. CEDA

undertakes research with the objective of delivering independent, evidence-

based policy to address critical economic issues and drive public debate and

discussion. It could not complete its research agenda without the support of

these contributions.

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