Newspoll: Coalition gets new year boost, gains ground on Labor

Scott Morrison finally has something to smile about as 2019’s first Newspoll showed a major bounce for the Coalition.

Scott Morrison has been thrown the electoral version of a life jacket as the Coalition scored its highest Newspoll ratings since the ousting of Malcolm Turnbull last August.

The Coalition almost caught up to Labor as the preferred choice between the two major parties after lagging behind last year, The Australian reports.

In its best poll ratings since Mr Turnbull’s removal, the Coalition’s primary vote went up two points to 37 per cent, meanwhile Labor dropped three points to 38 per cent.

The Coalition’s two-party preferred vote also jumped two points to trail Labor by 47-53 per cent, giving the government a fighting chance to win the election after its standing with voters plunged last year.

Prime Minister Scott Morrison scored more favourably in the latest Newspoll compared to last year. Picture: Brendan Radke

However, the Prime Mimister can’t completely breathe a sigh of relief; his satisfaction levels dropped two points to 40 per cent.

At the same time, Australians dissatisfied with the Prime Minister’s performance rose to 47 per cent.

Federal Labor Opposition Leader Bill Shorten. Picture: Lyndon Mechielsen

Prime Minister Scott Morrison. Picture: AAP

The Greens remained unchanged on 9 per cent of primary votes, with more support swinging behind other minor parties and independents.

It comes as Mr Morrison has endured a difficult start to the year after several ministers quit.

Michael Keenan, the Minister for Human Services and Digital Transformation resigned last week, following the resignation of Industrial Relations Minister Kelly O’Dwyer less than a week ago.

Indigenous Affairs Minister Nigel Scullion also announced last week he would quit his Northern Territory Senate seat.

On a radio and breakfast television blitz this morning, Mr Morrison brushed off the Newspoll results and opted to focus on today’s jobs announcement.

“I’m announcing today our pledge for 1.25 million jobs over the next five years. They are the numbers that matter,” Mr Morrison said when asked about the Newspoll on the Nine Network’s Today show.

“We have an outstanding record of job creation. Over 1.2 million since we were first elected, and we will generate another 1.25 million jobs over the next five years.”

Despite the poll boost, Mr Morrison was again forced to deny his ministers were leaving a sinking ship after three announced they were quitting politics in the past two weeks.

The Prime Minister said the speculation was a “very offensive way” to characterise people who had made “deeply personal decisions for family reasons”.

“I’m about family values and I respect family values and when my members are taking personal decisions for those reasons, just as Labor members have done, I’m not going to cast aspersions on them and seek to take political advantage of it like the Labor Party has. I think it is deeply disappointing it has been cast in that light,” he said.

Mr Morrison also denied the Coalition was scaremongering about the prospects of a recession if Labor won government.

“I didn’t say that. I said there would be a weaker economy under Labor than there would be under my government,” he told Channel 7’s Sunrise program.

Mr Shorten said he wouldn’t comment on polls “good, bad or indifferent” but added the public would see through the government’s “fear campaign” over the economy.

“The real risk in Australia at the moment is that the current government is managing the economy in the interests of the top end of town and yet every day households are having to dip into family savings to make ends meet,” he told reporters in Tathra in NSW.

“The real risk in Australia is another term of Coalition government.”

— with The Australian

Originally published as Newspoll: Coalition gets new year boost, gains ground on Labor