Coalition and Scott Morrison continue slide down poll

Scott Morrison says the government has ‘big a mountain to climb’ after the Coalition - and his own approval rating - took another whack in the latest Newspoll.

Scott Morrison says the government has “big a mountain to climb” after the Coalition - and his own approval rating - took another whack in the latest Newspoll.

The Prime Minister made the frank admission this morning, saying he wanted to be honest with Australians about the government’s position ahead of the next election.

But he vowed to keep focusing on his agenda for the country, highlighting national security, the economy and the drought as his priorities, despite the polls.

It comes after an exclusive Newspoll, conducted by The Australian, showed the government had dropped back another point to trail Labor 55-45 on a two-party-preferred basis, almost wiping out all of the gains the Coalition has clawed back since the damaging leadership spill in August.

Mr Morrison’s own approval rating also dropped two points to 39 per cent despite his four day publicity blitz in Queensland last week.

“Australians want to see stability in the government and that’s what we’re delivering and they need to be convinced of that and that will take time,” Mr Morrison told Ten’s Studio10 program this morning.

“I have no illusions about that. I knew, when stepping up into this role, there would be a big mountain to climb and a very steep one.

“But I’ve climbed those mountains before as has the party on occasions. That’s what I intend to do.”

Scott Morrison (centre), along with Treasurer and Deputy Liberal Leader Josh Frydenberg. Things aren’t looking good for the Coalition. Picture: AAP

Mr Morrison added: “Any politician who tells you these things are not part of the system or that they don’t feed into people’s perceptions wouldn’t be telling you the truth.”

“Of course they play into the commentary and the discussion. I’ll deal with them honestly.

“Does it change the agenda that I’m seeking to pursue for the country, particularly about keeping Australians safe or keeping the economy strong or bringing the budget back into surplus next year or the investments in water infrastructure, or dealing with the drought or the aged care royal commission - no, of course it doesn’t.”

Today’s Newspoll is the second in a row that has shown a drop in support for Coalition since its stunning defeat in the Wentworth by-election and deletes almost all the ground made during September and October after the bitter leadership spill.

Mr Morrison had an early flash of popularity after the spill but his approval rating has heading even further into negative territory while the margin to Labor leader Bill Shorten for preferred prime minister also diminished.

His satisfaction rating has now dropped four points since the Wentworth by-election.

Malcolm Turnbull lashed out at his former colleagues during an interview on the ABC. Picture: Supplied

In more bad news for the Prime Minister, those unhappy with Mr Morrison had a major spike of three points to 47 per cent, leading to a net negative satisfaction rating of minus eight points.

The most recent poll comes after Mr Turnbull’s interview last week on the ABC in which he slammed those senior cabinet ministers involved in the leadership spill against him, asking his former colleagues to explain his political demise.

Mr Turnbull’s comments forced Mr Morrison to respond, saying the former Prime Minister “didn’t connect” with mainstream Australia.

But the Coalition is having connection problems of its own. In yet another sign that the Coalition was missing the mark with voters, Labor nabbed a further one-point gain in popular support to reach a strong primary vote of 40 per cent.

The Coalition’s primary vote fell by a point to 35 per cent.

Kerryn Phelps’ Wentworth win has rattled the Morrison government. Picture: AAP

Still, there was a hint of good news.

That number is two points higher than the decade-long record low of 33 per cent recorded on the weekend following the August 24 spill and two points down on the 37 per cent it had reached in mid-October when there were signs the government might be headed towards an electoral ­recovery.

The numbers for all other ­parties remained the same, with the Greens on 9 per cent, One Nation holding on 6 per cent and the vote for “other” minor parties and independents at 10 per cent.

Scott Morrison’s approval rating has dropped further. Picture: Jerad Williams

— with The Australian

Originally published as Coalition and Scott Morrison continue slide down poll