Coalition voters still in slump say Allianz
Politics appear to be driving the nation's optimism levels, Allianz Australia managing director Terry Towell said.
A vast improvement in Australian's levels of optimism since a low point after the Federal Budget announcement was not felt evenly across the nation, according to the Allianz Future Optimism Index.
Allianz attributed the rise in optimism to improved sentiment among ALP voters and said it was driven by non-Coalition voters.
"The rise in optimism appears to have clear political underpinnings. It is almost entirely driven by improved sentiment among ALP voters, as well as those that vote 'other' - a group of about 40 per cent made up by Greens voters and other minor parties or independents," Towell said.
But Coalition voters' optimism was still at record lows, according to Towell. Coalition voters stayed steady at -5 on Allianz's optimism index, compared to an increase from 17 to 26 for ALP voters and -2 to 16 for the 'other' category.
"This is the first Allianz Optimism survey following the introduction of the carbon tax, but I will leave it to others to speculate about whether there is any relationship between that and the increase in optimism among ALP and Green voters," Towell said.
Western Australians experienced the most marked improvement in optimism, increasing from 4 in June to 23 in July. Those living in NSW were still at the lowest level in the last 18 months at 3, while Victorians increased from 2 to 11 and South Australians from 1 to 8.
Queenslanders were the least optimistic at 2.
Record lows were also recorded for those aged 35-49 and although the optimism of both men and women rose, men jumped from 4 in May to 12 in July, while women increased from -3 to 3.
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