Abbott was right: Swan's budget a DUD

Swan's budget

And the electorate agrees with that assessment. More good news for Labor, as the public response to the budget is examined:

THE Federal Budget has crashed and appears to have done more damage to Labor’s credibility than help revive its political fortunes.

The first poll to measure the national mood following the May 10 Budget – conducted by The Daily Telegraph –Galaxy – revealed fewer than a third of Australians believed it was good for the economy.

Two of the Budget’s key “spend and save” measures were soundly rejected.

Support for the $300 million digital set-top box scheme for pensioners was lowest among those it sought to benefit, with more than 60 per cent of older Australians saying they didn’t want it.

Cuts to family tax payments for 40,000 families also struck a raw nerve, with 47 per cent of Australians rejecting the idea that families earning $150,000 were rich.

According to the results of a poll, conducted on May 11 and May 12, just 28 per cent of voters thought the Budget would be good for the Australian economy, with 39 per cent saying it would be bad.

Only 11 per cent said the Budget confirmed Labor as a sound economic manager.

The negative assessment marked a dramatic shift from last year, when 43 per cent of voters rated the 2010 Budget as good for the economy. Even among Labor voters, only 47 per cent believed this Budget was positive.

The results will come as [a] blow to Prime Minister Julia Gillard’s hopes the Budget would inject life back into the Government, as Tony Abbott ramps up the case for a fresh election on the basis there is no mandate for a carbon tax.

“Wayne Swan’s fourth Budget has failed to impress voters and done little to bolster Labor’s economic credentials,” Galaxy CEO David Briggs said.

“It’s not just the Budget – it goes beyond that. It is a reflection that Labor are on the nose and it doesn’t matter what they do.

“It suggests a growing disenchantment with a Government that has failed to inspire confidence and is looking increasingly like an administration trying to muddle through as best it can.”

Read it here.