Classed attitudes and social reform in cross-national perspective : a quantitative analysis using four waves from the International Social Survey Programme (ISSP)

This article attempts to forge new links between social attitudes and social policy change in Australia. Drawing on four survey waves of international social survey data and using multivariate regression analysis, this article sheds new light on the determinants of Australian attitudes towards the welfare state. It examines their variations across time and compares them with other leading Western economies. While there is popular support for government actions to protect Australian citizens in old age and sickness, views about social protection and labour market policy for the working-age population are divided. The comparative analysis and the focus on class-attitude linkages allows for further critical reflection on the nature of social relations and recent social reforms enacted by the Liberal-National coalition government