Big companies seen as big winners: Ceda poll

Western Australians overwhelmingly believe the big end of town has been the major beneficiary of the country’s unprecedented run of growth over the past 26 years, a poll commissioned by the Committee for Economic Development of Australia has found.

The poll was part of Ceda's Community Pulse 2018: The Economic Disconnect report.

It found that nearly 90 per cent of survey respondents from WA think that senior executives and large corporations have gained the most over the past two decades.

More specifically, 77 per cent said senior executives have "gained a lot" and 11 per cent said they have "gained a little".

By contrast, when survey respondents were asked if they had gained personally, only 4 per cent said they had gained a lot while 35 per cent said they had gained a little; 52 per cent said they had not gained at all.

The results were similar when survey respondents were asked about "people like you".

More than 80 per cent of Western Australians believe that foreign shareholders have gained from the country’s strong economic performance.

White collar workers were also seen as winners - 33 per cent of survey respondents said this group has gained a lot and 47 per cent said it had gained a little. 

WA respondents were most divided over lower immigration and foreign working visas, in line with national trends.

“Overall West Australian respondents were more likely to feel like they have not gained, or don’t know if they have gained from Australia’s record run of economic growth compared to national results (61 per cent compared to 55 per cent nationally),” Ceda chief executive Melinda Cilento said.

“WA respondents were the least likely to feel like they had gained from economic growth of all the states, with only 39 per cent feeling they had gained from economic growth.

“Australia has now had 27 years of uninterrupted economic growth but most Australians don’t feel like they are getting ahead, and that feeling is stronger in WA.

“Economic confidence and employment are now picking up again in WA. Despite this the transition from a mining boom that represented one of the largest positive economic shocks to the economy in generations has no doubt weighed on WA households.”