CANBERRA, Nov. 28 (Xinhua) -- Half of Australians say they are in a worse financial position than two years ago, a poll has found.
According to a Newspoll survey published by News Corp Australia newspapers on Tuesday, 50 percent of voters believe they are worse-off now compared to two years ago, and 16 percent feel they are better-off, with the remaining 34 percent saying their financial position was about the same.
The poll found that women were more likely to feel worse-off than men - 53 percent compared to 48 percent - and that 60 percent of respondents aged 35-49 said they were worse-off.
Renters were the most likely to feel worse-off, the poll found.
A separate Newspoll survey published on Monday found that voter support for the governing Labor Party and Prime Minister (PM) Anthony Albanese has fallen.
On a two-party preferred basis Newspoll found that Labor is now deadlocked 50-50 with the opposition Coalition after leading 52-48 at the start of November and 54-46 in mid-October.
Asked in Parliament on Monday about cost-of-living pressures, Albanese declared it the government's "number one priority".
"There are three vital ways you can tackle cost-of-living. You get costs down for families, you get wages up for workers, but you can also get the budget onto a stronger foundation, and we are doing all three," he said.
Albanese and Treasurer Jim Chalmers will in December hand down the Mid-Year Economic and Fiscal Outlook (MYEFO).
According to financial statements published by the government on Friday, the budget's underlying cash balance is tracking nine billion Australian dollars (5.9 billion U.S. dollars) better through the first four months of the 2023-24 financial year than projected in May. ■