Anthony Albanese is failing to connect with male voters | Samantha Maiden

You might have heard of the Liberal party’s issues with women but they polls says Labor has it’s own gender troubles, writes Samantha Maiden.

Anthony Albanese has a man problem.

Sure, you might have heard about the Liberal Party’s lady issues. At the last election it was touted as one of the big reasons why Scott Morrison was turfed out of office. It even helped the “teals” win a cluster of seats from the Liberals, backed by high-income female professionals.

But the intriguing thing to look at as the Prime Minister’s polling numbers go to custard is where the growth in Peter Dutton’s support is coming from.

Is Anthony Albanese failing to connect with male voters? Picture: NewsWire / Martin Ollman

According to the most recent Newspoll, conducted for The Australian, both genders are now split down the middle on the two major parties for the first time.

In theory, debunking claims the Coalition does not resonate with female voters.

But some political insiders aren’t so sure it’s quite so simple. They argue that the big shift to Peter Dutton is driven in no small part by male voters.

It’s a tricky thing to track because not all polls publish a gender breakdown or indeed present the material in a manner that makes it simple to track the changes over time and by gender.

And of course it doesn’t happen in a uniform way.

Not all female voters think the same and nor do all male voters think as a pack. Gender doesn’t explain everything. But it’s still an intriguing question.

Is Anthony Albanese failing to connect with male voters? And does it go beyond the Coalition’s framing of Peter Dutton as strong and Anthony Albanese as weak?

Consider the Resolve poll. It has been reported for nearly a year that male voters have turned against Labor and increased their support for the Coalition in a big political shift.

Support among men for the Albanese Government dropped f

According to the most recent Newspoll, conducted for The Australian, both genders are now split down the middle on the two major parties for the first time. Picture: NewsWire / Glenn Campbell

rom 37 per cent to 31 per cent in the first half of last year.

Some political observers believe what’s going on is particularly strange when you consider that it’s traditionally women that are more sensitive to cost of living because they are the ones pushing the shopping trolley often more than the blokes.

Despite this, women still skew progressive, although less so than at the last election. Some speculate potential reasons.

While men are intrigued by the philosophical debate over Peter Dutton’s nuclear power push, is it possible that women are more pragmatic, reasoning that if it won’t make the grocery bill cheaper next month or even next year, what’s the point?

Some argue that while men are often moved by big, thematic issues such as immigration – one of Peter Dutton’s hot button issues – that the cost of living crisis is naturally punishing everyone.

RedBridge pollster Kos Samaras doesn’t believe it’s a gender issue but it is a demographic issue.

“Voters between 35 to 55, living in the outer suburbs and regions are the one group who have moved the most, away from Labor,’’ he says.

“These voters have not only experienced a dramatic increase in financial stress but a significant change in lifestyle.

“Hence, there is no real difference between genders within these very specific parts of Australia.

“Women for example, have gone from possibly having a part-time job, taking care of the family, to now working longer hours to supplement the family income as expenses have risen.

“So their lived experience is drastically different compared to life before 2022.

That experience is not just isolated to work but also other activities, like holidays, how they spend the festive season and other discretionary spending.”

But it’s women’s concerns about cost of living and medical expenses that helps explain a lot about why the Prime Minister suddenly wants to talk about Medicare, and it’s all about connecting with women.

Recent Redbridge polling has confirmed that more than a third of Australians say they have delayed medical treatment because of the current economic conditions, while almost half say they have put off buying a home, a new car or other major purchases.

While only a quarter of people living on more than $3000 a week have put off medical treatment due to economic conditions, the percentage rises to 39 per cent for people living on between $1000 and $1999 a week, and 41 per cent for people who are forced to make do on less than $1000.

Pollster Tony Barry says if he had a dollar for every woman who told pollsters they were putting off medical expenses to prioritise their kids, and in some cases even feeding their kids different food, he would be a rich man.

And that’s a disturbing state of affairs.