Article by Blake Antrobus and Joseph Olbrycht-Palmer, courtesy of News.com.au
The Coalition has not “given up” on clinching an outright victory in next year’s federal election despite a key poll backing expectations Labor will return in minority government, Nationals leader David Littleproud has said.
Labor and the Coalition are neck and neck on a two-party-preferred basis, according to the latest Newspoll.
“We haven’t given up on the fact that we can still govern in our own right,” Mr Littleproud said.
“I think the fact that we have been able to get to such a competitive position in two years of an Albanese Government shows the consistency and discipline that Peter Dutton and I brought to the leadership of the National and Liberal Party.”
Conducted between July 15 and July 19, it surveyed 1258 voters and put the Albanese government’s primary vote at 32 per cent.
The result comes as the government battles inflation and rising cost of living, a key issue Mr Littleproud keenly seized on.
“This cost of living crisis has been created by Anthony Albanese and Jim Chalmers, it’s the 1.67 million new migrants that are going to come in without giving them a home, pushing up rents, pushing up the costs, it’s their electricity bills and an ideology of all renewables, that’s not only costing them their electricity bill, but their food bill,” he said.
The figure marks a one per cent drop for Labor since the last Newspoll.
Support for the Coalition has risen to 39 per cent – marking one of the widest gaps between the two major parties.
Both Labor and the Coalition are on a 50-50 split on a two-party-preferred basis.
The Newspoll results reveal 57 per cent of voters now believe a minority government from either party is the most likely outcome at the next federal election.
Incumbent Prime Minister Anthony Albanese still remains well ahead of Opposition Leader Peter Dutton on a head-to-head basis.
Mr Albanese remains the clear favourite at 46 per cent, compared with Mr Dutton’s 39 per cent.
But voters still remain dissatisfied with both leaders – with Mr Albanese’s approval rating dropping a point to 43 per cent.
Dissatisfaction for Mr Dutton also dropped by a point to 40 per cent.
The Greens primary vote fell a point to 12 per cent while other major parties had their primary vote lifted a point to 11 per cent.
Pauline Hanson’s One Nation remained unchanged at a six per cent primary vote.
The latest Newspoll follows the Reserve Bank of Australia holding firm on the official cash rate, which stands at 4.35 per cent.
RBA governor Michele Bullock said the bank would “not hesitate” to hike interest rates if it meant not exposing Australians to prolonged high inflation, while warning those levels may not return to the 2-3 per cent target band until December next year.
The Albanese government is also facing renewed pressure on its response to cost of living relief measures, including its promised $300 energy rebates.
Australian households were set to save $300 on electricity bills as part of the federal budget, but bureaucratic red tape has delayed the rollout.
Earlier in the week, the Prime Minister announced early childcare workers would receive a significant 15 per cent wage increase, starting with a 10 per cent increase from December.
Parliament is set to resume on Monday following the five-week winter break.
The monthly Newspoll survey is published by The Australian.
