Newspoll: Voters rate Anthony Albanese as weakest leader in decades

Peter Dutton is widening his lead against Anthony Albanese in the latest Newspoll, with the prime minister’s popularity sinking to a new low.

Some startling feedback for the Prime Minister has been produced by the latest Newspoll, conducted exclusively by The Australian.

Voters have regarded Anthony Albanese as the weakest prime minister in decades, with Opposition Leader Peter Dutton widening his lead against the Labor PM.

Poll respondents view the leader of the Coalition as the stronger and more decisive leader, despite a two-party contest that has the ­Coalition and Labor locked in a neck-and-neck race to the election.

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese visits Australian Vanadium Electrolyte Manufacturing facility In Wangara. Picture: NewsWire / Sharon Smith

The Newspoll shows Mr Albanese falling further behind Mr Dutton on key character traits fundamental to clinching the leadership.

The PM’s rating as a strong and decisive leader has fallen five points to 44 per cent compared to Mr Dutton holding steady on 60 per cent.

This is the lowest score for a prime minister on perceived strength since Newspoll first began the series in 2008 after the election of Kevin Rudd.

Mr Dutton’s is the highest score for an opposition leader since Tony Abbott and Malcolm Turnbull more than a decade ago.

A Redbridge Group’s poll of 5000 Australians last week suggested that Labor has “no chance of winning a majority”.

It comes as as Mr Albanese came under fire from Jewish leaders and the Coalition to take decisive measures to combat rising anti-Semitism after arson attack on a Melbourne synagogue.

A police officer stands on patrol at the front of the Adass Israel Synagogue on December 6, 2024 in Melbourne, Australia. Picture: Getty Images

But most of the poll was conducted even before news of the attack.

Additionally, voters see Mr Albanese as ineffective regarding cost of living, the stalling economy and social unrest.

In contrast, Mr Dutton was seen as the more experienced leader and continued to score higher than Mr Albanese as having a vision for the nation and voters’ core concerns.

Mr Albanese’s ratings fell in eight out of nine of the poll’s categories with voters viewing him as less less in touch, weaker and less decisive than he was six months ago. He suffered a fall in trust with his lead over Mr Dutton on this measure narrowing to five points.

However, these declining scores were counterbalanced with voters continuing to view Mr Albanese as more likeable and caring than Mr Dutton.

Nevertheless, the PM was regarded as less arrogant than the Liberal leader and maintained his advantage over Mr Dutton as the preferred prime minister.

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese joins Premier Roger Cook & Rita Saffioti on the newly opened Ellenbrook train line via Metronet. Picture: NewsWire / Sharon Smith

The two-party contest between Labor and the Coalition also tightened to 50/50, a slight shift back toward Labor from the 51/49 lead the Coalition held since early October.

The Coalition’s primary vote fell a point to 39 per cent while Labor’s primary vote of 33 per cent remained unchanged.

The poll results come as Mr Albanese and Mr Dutton visited battleground seats in Perth and Tasmania respectively.

Mr Albanese unveiled the opening of a major train line in Perth’s north on Sunday, where the booming outer suburbs helped Labor pick up five seats and secure majority government in 2022.

Mr Dutton visited the swing seat of Lyons on Sunday after weeks of internal government strife over Environment Minister Tanya Plibersek’s delay of a review into salmon fishing.

Senator Wendy Askew, Sorrell Mayor Janet Gatehouse, Hon Peter Dutton MP and Susie Bower at Sorell Mens Shed. Picture: Caroline Tan

The approval ratings for both leaders remained largely unchanged, with Mr Albanese on a net negative approval rating of minus 14 and Mr Dutton on a net negative rating of minus 12.

Satisfaction with Mr Albanese’s performance as Prime Minister remained on 40 per cent, while dissatisfaction dropped a point to 54 per cent.

Mr Dutton’s satisfaction rating fell a point to 39 per cent but against no movement on the dissatisfaction score of 51 per cent.

The margin between the two leaders on the measure of who would make a better prime minister improved slightly for Mr Albanese.

While his score of 45 per cent was unchanged, Mr Dutton’s fell three points to 38 per cent, with 17 per cent uncommitted.

Mr Dutton retained a lead of two points over Mr Albanese (70/68) on who would be the more experienced leader.