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Australians unaware just how much their vote will affect their wallet in Federal Election

Announcement posted by The Firecracker Factory 29 Jun 2016

RateCity survey shows voters how their vote will impact their wallet - respondents surprised at the result

Australians don’t realise just how much their vote will cost them on Election Day

With the federal election just three days away, thousands of Australians have been put to the test to discover one question: How much will their vote affect their hip pocket?

The RateCity Election Calculator – which helps voters understand which parties policies will affect their hip pocket the most – has, to date, been taken by 3,600 Australians.    

So far the calculator has found that the majority of respondents (57.1 per cent) could potentially be better off under Labor, followed by the Coalition (29.1 per cent) and the Greens (13.9 per cent).

Post-survey interviews have revealed that many voters have no idea just how much the outcome of the election could affect their financial situation.

Business owner and interest home buyer Michael said he was very surprised by the result – he has always been an avid Liberal voter, but discovered that Labor might be more beneficial for him from a financial perspective.

"I have voted Liberal all my life and hadn't thought much about how the way I voted impacted me financially. This is certainly something worth taking into consideration."

Bartender Lucy Kate said: “The result was a huge surprise. I’ve always thought Labor was for me, but that wasn’t the case. To be honest I have never even thought about my wallet when voting. Now I definitely will. Now I’m suddenly interested in penalty rates.”

RateCity Money Editor Sally Tindall said the RateCity calculator was an awareness tool to get people thinking about the policies that affect them financially in the lead up to the election.

“The calculator focuses on areas where there are significant differences between the three parties in areas such as tax, education, child care and superannuation, but we’ve also added in things like the tobacco excise where you’ll be far better off quitting regardless of who wins,” Tindall said.

“In some cases, it’s near impossible to decipher the political jargon to understand where the differences between the two parties lie.  This exercise helps clarify a lot of this confusion.”

Tindall said that the calculator was designed to be a fun, engaging way to get people thinking about their own personal finances.

“We’re not out to tell you how to vote. Rather we’re looking to contextualise the financial issues ahead of polling day, because ultimately what’s going to affect you day-to-day are policies with financial implications attached,” she said.

To view the calculator, go to: http://www.ratecity.com.au/election-2016

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For further information, please contact:

David Blight

T: 0421 071 756

Email: d.blight@atomic212.com.au