Voters believe free trade agreements are good for the economy and Australia should pursue a Trans-Pacific Partnership deal without the United States, an Essential poll has found.
But the Essential poll of 1,005 respondents, released on Tuesday, found that voters opposed another plank of the Coalition’s economic plan, with 65% saying big businesses do not pay enough tax.
The poll, conducted from Friday to Monday, found Labor steady on 54% of the two-party-preferred vote to the Coalition’s 46%.
One Nation has ticked up by one point to 10% of the primary vote, overtaking the Greens who fell one point to 9% – a similar result to a ReachTel poll in January that also found the rightwing party ahead.
Respondents were on balance in favour of free trade agreements, with 47% saying they were good for Australia, 15% who said they were bad, 21% who said they were neither good nor bad and 17% had no opinion.
Coalition voters were most in favour of free trade deals (with 61% support), with 46% of Labor voters and 39% of Greens voters also saying they were good, outnumbering people who opposed them in those parties.
Asked about the TPP now that President Donald Trump has decided the US will pull out of the deal, 19% of respondents said Australia should also pull out, compared with 59% who wanted to renegotiate an agreement without the US and 29% who didn’t know.
The Turnbull government has suggested that Australia seek a so-called TPP 12 minus one agreement without the US and repeatedly talked up the benefits of free trade deals as part of its economic plan.
At the National Press Club on Tuesday, the opposition leader, Bill Shorten, criticised Malcolm Turnbull for “spruiking the benefits of an agreement that no longer exists”. “Attempting CPR on the TPP is a waste of time. It is worse than a vanity project.”
Asked in the Essential poll who would capture the benefits of free trade deals, majorities nominated the government (59%), businesses (59%), mining companies (58%) and the economy generally (51%). Only a minority said tourism operators (48%), farmers (45%) or workers (41%).
Support for free trade has grown, with those believe it will benefit the economy and businesses generally up 14% and 15% since November 2014.
Respondents wanted higher taxes on large international companies including Apple and Google, with 72% saying they did not pay enough, as well as large businesses (65%), mining companies (61%) and people on high incomes (59%). Cutting the company tax rate to 25% for all businesses, at the cost of $48bn over 10 years, is a key goal of the Coalition government in 2017.
At the press club on Tuesday, Shorten reiterated that Labor supports tax cuts for the 83% of Australian businesses with less than $2m a year turnover.
He said it “hadn’t seen the case made out” to give tax cuts for businesses earning between $2m and $10m. Labor opposes tax cuts for businesses earning more than $10m.
Most respondents to the Essential poll said people on low and average incomes pay too much tax, 46% and 43% respectively.
A slim majority said small businesses paid the right amount (39%), compared with 37% who said they pay too much. Similarly, asked about their own tax 42% said they paid the right amount, compared with 39% who thought they paid too much.
Asked about taxing big multinational corporations more, 60% agreed it would be good for the economy, compared with 11% who said it would be bad, and 29% who did not know.
Asked whether the structures governing Australian society needed to fundamentally change, 40% agreed, 44% said they were fundamentally sound but needed to be refined and 6% said the system worked well and did not need substantial change.
Greens voters were most in favour of refinement, not fundamental change (54%) followed by Coalition voters (52%) and those on incomes of more than $2,000 a week (52%).
Those most likely to think it needs fundamental change were “other” voters (52%) and those on incomes under $1,000 a week (47%).
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