Source : Perth Now news
Voters are turning harder on Labor, with a new poll showing the government under pressure not only on its vote, but on the standing of its senior figures.
The latest Australian Financial Review RedBridge Accent poll paints a bleak picture for the government. Anthony Albanese and Jim Chalmers have both fallen to their weakest personal standings yet.
Labor is stuck at its lowest recorded primary vote, and the party is trailing rivals on almost every major issue except health.
The survey of 1000 voters, conducted from Monday to Friday, points to a political environment that remains volatile.
One Nation edged back in front on the primary vote, leading Labor by 29 per cent to 28 per cent, the sixth time in six months the lead between the two parties has changed hands.
Coalition support was broadly steady.
The Greens, now led by David Shoebridge after Larissa Waters stepped aside due to ill health, showed no immediate lift from the leadership change. Their primary vote slipped 1 point to 11 per cent.
While Labor still leads One Nation 52 per cent to 48 per cent on a two-party-preferred basis after preferences, that figure was unchanged from a month ago.
Albanese’s net favourability dropped 10 points in a month to minus 27 per cent, his lowest result on record in this series.
Chalmers also fell sharply, with his net favourability down 9 points to minus 23 per cent, also a record low.
Pauline Hanson improved slightly to minus 10 per cent, while Coalition leader Angus Taylor slipped 3 points to minus 6 per cent.
Albanese remains the preferred prime minister, but his lead is narrowing. He was unchanged at 31 per cent, while Hanson rose 2 points to 26 per cent.
Taylor was unchanged on 15 per cent, leaving the Prime Minister ahead, but with a much smaller buffer than Labor would want.
Cost of living remains by far the biggest concern for voters, nominated by 73 per cent of those surveyed.
Healthcare followed on 36 per cent, then housing affordability on 33 per cent, immigration on 29 per cent and crime and public safety on 24 per cent.
Concern about economic management jumped 7 points in a month to 21 per cent, pushing it just outside the top five issues for voters.
That is especially difficult for Labor because it is losing ground on the question of who is best placed to handle the economy. The Coalition now holds a clear lead there, while One Nation is also competitive and Labor has slipped back.
Labor now leads only on healthcare when voters are asked which party is best equipped to deal with the country’s key problems.
One Nation leads on cost of living, housing affordability, immigration and crime.
The Coalition is ahead on economic management, national security and tax reform.
The week of polling coincided with fresh scrutiny of the government’s spending, another interest rate rise and renewed attention on inflation, sharpening the focus on the economic pressures weighing on households.
