Shock poll result for Queensland government

The state government has been handed another brutal reality check with the release of new data showing exactly how Queenslanders feel. VOTE IN THE POLL

• Poll plunge: Premier’s eight-year low

Just a quarter of Queenslanders have rated the performance of the state government as good, according to shock results from a new national poll.

Data, to be released on Friday in the latest SEC Newgate Mood of the Nation report, reveals Queensland by far had the lowest approval rating for any state government in the nation, with cost of living, crime and housing affordability noted as the top three issues heading into an election year.

Almost 70 per cent of Queenslanders feel the country is moving in the wrong direction with a clear majority pessimistic about the future.

Just 27 per cent of respondents said the Queensland government was performing well, an approval rating more than 10 per cent lower than the next closest state of Victoria, where 38 per cent of respondents believed their state government was doing a good job.

Opposition leader David Crisafulli was narrowly ahead of Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk as the state’s preferred leader by a margin of 34-30 per cent.

It comes after YouGov polling conducted for The Courier-Mail this week revealed the worst approval rating for the premier in her eight-year tenure, with Mr Crisafulli moving ahead in the Preferred premier race for the first time.

The SEC Newgate survey took into account the views of 1600 Australians, including more than 600 Queenslanders, with a majority of banana benders feeling pessimistic about the future.

The federal government did not escape unscathed either, with only 29 per cent of Queensland respondents believing the Anthony Albanese-led parliament was performing well, less than the national average of 32 per cent.

Almost three quarters of Queensland respondents (71 per cent) viewed cost of living as a major concern and 27 per cent named housing affordability.

Crime came in third with 15 per cent – six per cent higher than the national average.

David Stolper, a partner at SEC Newgate Research, said issues affecting all Australians were biting particularly hard in Queensland.

“This could be due to a number of factors, such as the fact Queensland has a large number of people living in regional areas, which traditionally means higher prices for petrol coupled with the need to drive longer distances,” he said.

Emma Perkins, from Mt Gravatt, and Hazel Turton, from Hamilton, are both feeling the pressures of the cost-of-living crisis.

Both women feel they have changed the way they go about their day in this new reality, with every day costs such as petrol, power bills and food increasing.

“Groceries have become really expensive, I find myself looking for stuff that is on special and things like that just to save money,” Ms Turton said.

Ms Perkins said if products weren’t on special she would rarely buy them.

“Yeah, if it’s not on special I usually go without it,” she said.

Both women said there were important things many people can’t afford.

“Even good private health care is just so expensive now, so of course people are going to say, prioritise their kids over paying health care,” Ms Turton said.

Emma Perkins with baby Owen Perkins and family friends Harvey Turton, Hazel Turton and Harry Turton. Picture: John Gass

Five-year-old Harvey Turton is starting primary school next year and Ms Turton said that while private school was previously on the cards, he will now be attending public school.

“It’s not affordable at the moment with mortgage and interest rates going up, maybe when he is a bit older and in high school,” she said.

Ms Perkins said mortgage repayments had become extremely difficult and her husband was working extra hours to help manage their costs.

“He takes weekend work now, which he probably wouldn’t have done in the past,” she said.

“He’s doing a lot more overtime, because I went part-time after having a new baby so every time [rates] go up, it’s worrying.”