Issues Monitor June 2014: Queensland
Top Issues Facing Queensland
In an overall sense, the top issues facing Queensland according to the Queensland community were therefore healthcare (46%), followed by cost of living (40%), then a group of three – unemployment (32%), crime (31%) and the economy (29%). Whilst healthcare rose slightly in this quarter, this small increase suggests that the impact of the federal budget may well be offsetting the improvement we saw in the first quarter.
Concern about the cost of living and the economy continued to increase, with the former now in a clear second position. The increase in concern about these two issues is likely to be related to the federal budget announcement (as we’ve seen in other States) but may also be a result of growing concerns about the carbon tax, rising Queensland electricity prices and Government communications around the need to get Government debt under control. Interestingly, concern about the economy is now the highest we have seen since we began this monitor in late 2010.
Concern regarding unemployment continues to grow in line with the climbing unemployment rate in Queensland, which rose to 6.3% in March and April. The level of concern about unemployment in Queensland is now at its highest level since we began measurement in 2010.
