Newspoll: Majority of voters believe Coalition not yet ready to govern again
A majority of voters don’t believe the Coalition is ready to govern, despite maintaining a lead over Labor. Vote in our polls.
Federal Election
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A hung parliament is still the most likely outcome of the federal election, which is now scheduled for May, according to the latest Newspoll.
The survey, conducted by The Australian, shows a lift in support for Anthony Albanese as Prime Minister – but not enough to win.
However, a majority of voters don’t believe the Coalition is ready to rule the nation despite the Liberal/Nationals’ seven-point primary vote lead over Labor.
Peter Dutton’s approval rating fell while Mr Albanese extended his lead to nine points on who voters preferred as prime minister.
The doubts about a Dutton-led Coalition being ready to govern were pronounced among younger voters, as well as with the critical 35 to 49-year-old demographic, 61 per cent of which said the Coalition wasn’t ready to govern.
A majority of voters aged 50-64 years (53 per cent) were similarly not confident in the Coalition governing.
Among men, 51 per cent were confident in the Coalition compared with just 39 per cent of women.
When it comes to the states, Queensland was the biggest LNP supporter (56 per cent),
compared with 46 per cent in Victoria and 43 per cent in NSW.
Mr Albanese’s approval rating rose four points to 41 per cent, with disapproval falling five points to 53 per cent.
Mr Dutton suffered a two-point fall in approval to 39 per cent and a two-point rise in dissatisfaction to 53 per cent, giving him a net negative rating of minus 14.
This is the first time since late last year that Mr Albanese has had a better approval rating than the Opposition Leader.
In the head-to-head contest between the two leaders, Mr Albanese has improved his position two points to 47 per cent, with Mr Dutton falling two points to 38 per cent.
Primary support for both parties lifted, with Labor on 32 per cent and the Coalition on 39 per cent.
Compared to the last federal election, the Coalition is up three points while Labor is the same.
The Greens are on 12 per cent and Pauline Hanson’s One Nation is on 7 per cent.
Independents and minor parties have dipped.
The Newspoll indicated that 45 per cent of voters believe that the Coalition is ready to govern against 55 per cent who do not.
Along party lines, 88 per cent of Coalition voters say the opposition is ready and 87 per cent of Labor voters say it isn’t.
Voters supporting the Greens, minor parties and independents tipped the Coalition into negative territory.
The results suggest Labor remains shy of being able to form a majority government, with the election likely to be a contest between the two major parties over who could form a minority government with support of independents and minor parties.
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Originally published as Newspoll: Majority of voters believe Coalition not yet ready to govern again
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