Latest polling shows Labor expected to win election but not enough voters will back them
The latest polling shows Queenslanders expect Labor to win the upcoming state election but widespread discontent at both parties means a majority won’t vote for them. SEE THE RESULTS
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Queenslanders expect the Palaszczuk Government will be returned at the October 31 election but not enough of them are prepared to back Labor to ensure it happens.
Exhaustive polling has exposed how voters are unimpressed about their options with widespread disapproval of both major parties and their leaders ahead of the crucial election.
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Commissioned by the Queensland-based Australian Institute of Progress think tank, the research revealed 47 per cent of voters thought Labor would be returned to power while just 15 per cent expected an LNP government would be elected.
The remaining 18 per cent predicted a hung parliament.
However, just 32 per cent of voters planned to vote for Labor compared to 38 per cent of the LNP and 12 per cent for the Green.
The vast majority of One Nation, Katter’s Australian Party and United Australia Party voters planned to preference the LNP over Labor, leaving the Palaszczuk Government trailing the Deb Frecklington-led Opposition 44 per cent to 56 per cent on a two-party-preferred basis.
Conducted in late August, the poll found Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk had an approval rating of -8 per cent, with the qualitative research showing voters had a dim view about her time in office outside the COVID-19 pandemic.
“Our polling suggests her approval is mostly based on her handling of COVID, and that electors are looking past that to the future when assessing the next election,” the AiP said.
“They want to know who is best to handle the recovery which puts the emphasis on economic competence, and here Labor struggles.
“Not that the LNP are rated highly, but it is generally a core LNP attribute more than it is Labor’s.”
Ms Frecklington’s approval rating was far worse at -21 with voters branding her negative or ineffective.
“She appears to me to be too weak and does not get her message out in southeast Queensland,” one voter said.
However, on the question of preferred premier, Ms Palaszczuk and Ms Frecklington were almost a dead heat at 45 and 44 per cent respectively, a significant improvement for the Opposition Leader over previous polls.
And 44 per cent of voters would preferred the LNP to be elected compared with 41 per cent for Labor.
“Despite being inferior to Labor on almost every measure, electors would still rather have the LNP as the government, even if by only a tiny margin,” the AiP said.
“This says that they have such a low opinion of both parties that they don’t see much real difference between them in terms of performance.”