Nearly a quarter of respondents nominate ‘jobs and the economy’ as the most important problem facing Australia today. Most Australians are in favour of at least some government support for businesses but are most strongly in favour when the direct public benefit of the that funding is obvious.
There is strong backing for help for family farms with nearly 60% saying the Government should provide a lot of support to the farms losing money during drought.
57% approve of the Government providing a lot of support to a medical company developing an anti-malaria drug.
44% of respondents say the Government should provide a lot of support to a technology start-up creating an app to help kids learn maths.
Very few, just 6%, agree Government should provide a lot of support to a technology start-up creating an app that compares hotel prices.
Innovation and science have underpinned rising living standards across the world. A focus of Australian government policy since the 1980s has been to increase the level of private sector research and development (R&D). Australian expenditure on R&D in 2013 was slightly below the OECD average, and has declined slightly since 2008.
When presented with hypothetical companies and scenarios Australians are more supportive of government assistance for farming and medical companies. A tech startup that specifically aims to help kids learn maths was judged the third most deserving of government support though.
In contrast, Australians are less supportive of funding for both small and large businesses that may be struggling and are far less supportive of government funding for a tech startup with no explicit ‘public-good’ component.
Australians appear to be broadly supportive of government support across industries so long as the benefit to the public is explicit. They are less supportive of funding businesses for economic reasons, even if those businesses are reportedly struggling.