GE’s ‘Two Words for Tomorrow’ poll reveals public seeking strong leadership and vision

New research was released today, outlining the top ten challenges facing Australia’s future, indicating that Australians are seeking strong leadership and vision to help shape the country’s future following GE’s ‘Two Words for Tomorrow’ poll and campaign via The One Centre Sydney.

For more information or to view the live results, visit the Two Words for Tomorrow website.

The ‘Two Words for Tomorrow’ national poll, conducted over three months between March and June this year, asked Australians to contribute two words that best described the one national issue that matters most to them. Over 16,800 responses were collected from across the country.

The top themes from across the nation were:

1. Government Leadership (21%)

2. Clean Environment (12%)

3. Strong Economy (8%)

4. Australian Lifestyle (4%)

5. Taxation Policy (4%)

6. Cultural Harmony (4%)

7. Quality Healthcare (4%)

8. Immigration Policy (3%)

9. Quality Education (3%)

10. Population Growth (2%)

Says David Chalke, leading social analyst: “This research from GE shows that Australians know our country is lucky, but we are seeking a clear vision of where our country is headed. We want pragmatic solutions.

“This search for leadership correlates with data from AustraliaSCAN (AustraliaSCAN is the annual monitor of cultural change prepared by Quantum Market Research) over the last 20 years which shows a clear shift in public confidence. Confidence in all tiers of government has fallen approximately 15 points from its peak to today’s trough. Confidence in news in the main media has fallen a similar amount.  Conversely, confidence in professionals such as doctors, pharmacists and scientists has blossomed up around 20 points, teachers and bank managers have enjoyed renewed confidence up around 15 points.

“These poll results reconfirm Australia’s continuing need for an inspiring shared vision for the future. The results also show us that Australians feel leadership needn’t come just from government, but is being sought after at all areas of society – from business, communities and individuals,” he said.

Key research insights:

Nationally, Australians today are seeking strong leaders and visionaries to help shape our country’s future, and ensure our long-term prosperity.

• Government Leadership was seen as the number one issue, reflected in 21% of all responses, far and above the other themes represented
• Leadership was seen as a priority from Australians from all walks of life, but is particularly cited as an issue among males (24%) compared to females (14%).
• People aged 55 years and over strongly believe that Government Leadership is the biggest challenge and were three to four times more likely to cite this as an issue than those younger than 35.

Australians remain aware and dedicated to maintaining our unique clean and green environment.

• A “clean environment” was reflected in 12% of national ‘two word’ responses.
• This the top concern for young Australians with, 19% of responses from those aged under 18 years citing this as an issue
• Females were more slightly concerned about the environment (14%) than males (11%).

Despite Australia’s strong economic situation, Australians remain wary of our economic vulnerability.

• 8% of responses indicated that securing Australia’s economy is the biggest challenge for our country’s future.
• Responses reveal that Australians are still concerned with maintaining low unemployment, sustainable productivity, low public debt and avoiding the financial crisis that has rocked international economies.

Australians want to maintain our unique Australian social services, lifestyle and cultural harmony.

• Healthcare remains an important priority for Australians, represented in 4% of responses.
• Words relating to Australian lifestyle were also entered by 4% of respondents, with an equal amount of entries also relating to cultural harmony.

Says Steve Sargent, president & CEO of GE Australia and New Zealand: “The Two Words for Tomorrow program was designed to get a sense of what matters to Australians The results tell us that collectively, Australians are seeking leadership at all levels – from government, business and community, and in key areas such as Environment, Healthcare and the Economy.

“GE Works across most of these key facets of our society and in response, we convened ‘At Work 2012’, a forum of 1000 Leaders across industry, academia, government and NGO’s to facilitate an outcomes-based discussion on the challenges facing Australia and the role of Leadership in building a sense of optimism in the country’s future,” said Mr Sargent.