Guardian Essential poll: 40% of voters say Labor doing poor job tackling surging cost of living

Just one-quarter of voters think Labor is doing a good job of handling surging cost of living pressures, the latest Guardian Essential poll suggests, while a majority of respondents believe the Albanese government can influence the direction of inflation and interest rates.

The federal treasurer, Jim Chalmers, will deliver his first economic statement to parliament on Thursday which will foreshadow a difficult federal budget in October.

The Guardian Essential poll indicates a majority of Australians believe, even in an era of deregulation, that the government can exert influence over a range of economic factors including debt, the unemployment rate, inflation, fuel prices, workforce supply and interest rates.

When asked about their own financial position, more than half of the voters surveyed say they can afford household bills but struggle to find anything extra (39%) or report feeling under financial pressure (17%). Forty-one per cent of respondents report being financially comfortable.

There are gender differences in the responses. Men are more likely than women to say they are financially comfortable, and women are more likely than men to say they feel under financial pressure, or can cover household bills but struggle to afford anything extra.

Coalition voters are also more likely than Labor voters or minor party supporters to report feeling financially comfortable. Minor party supporters are more likely to report feeling under financial pressure.

When it comes to managing the latest Covid-19 outbreak, 36% say the performance is good, 25% say poor and 38% neither good nor poor. On climate change, 33% say good, 21% say poor and 46% say neither good nor poor. When it comes to education, 35% say good, 17% say poor and 48% say neither good nor poor.

Market analysts predict the new annual headline inflation figure released by the Australian Bureau of Statistics on Wednesday could be north of 6%.

As well as rising interest rates, consumers are battling high grocery, energy and petrol prices.