Newspoll: Approval for Scott Morrison and Coalition drops as election looms

Treasurer Josh Frydenberg has defended Scott Morrison after the latest Newspoll painted a bleak outlook months out of the election. TAKE OUR POLL

Support for the Coalition has slipped to its lowest level since the 2018 Liberal leadership spill, with Prime Minister Scott Morrison’s approval ratings also dropping as the election looms.

In the first Newspoll of 2022, commissioned exclusively for The Australian, the ­Coalition is lagging behind Labor for the first time as the preferred party for leading Australia out of the coronavirus pandemic.

Opposition Leader Anthony Albanese is now just two points behind Mr Morrison as preferred prime minister.

Mr Albanese has a four-point rise to 43 per cent in approval and a two-point ­decline in disapproval.

Labor Leader Anthony Albanese has a four point rise in approval. Picture: Nathan Schmidt

Support for the Coalition over the summer period has dropped, with the combined Liberal-Nationals vote falling two points to 34 per cent, which is the lowest since September 2018.

Labor’s primary vote rose three points to 41 per cent, the best result from the same period.

The Greens lifted a point to 11 per cent while Pauline Hanson’s One Nation Party remains on 3 per cent.

The poll produced a two-party-preferred lead for Labor of 56-44 after a two point drop in support for minor parties.

The numbers suggest Labor would win with a majority if a general election was held now, with the potential loss of up to 25 seats for the Coalition.

Treasurer Josh Frydenberg was dismissive of the result on Monday morning, claiming the only poll “that counts in politics” is on election day.

When put to him by Nine’s Karl Stefanovic that “the way it stands, you’re going to get crunched at the next election,” Mr Frydenberg shut down criticism.

“Scott Morrison has done a really, really good job. He will campaign very strongly,” he said.

“The next election is months away. The issues that we’ll be talking about on election day could very well be different to the ones we are talking about this morning.”

The results comes after growing frustration with supply chain issues, soaring Covid-19 case numbers, low access to antigen tests, and the deportation debacle of Novak Djokovic.

The has led to a collapse in approval for Mr Morrison, with the Prime Minister’s net satisfaction ratings falling 11 points to minus 19, his worst ranking since February 2020.

Mr Morrison’s satisfaction rating fell five points to 39 per cent while those dissatisfied with his performance as leader rose six points to 58 per cent.

Approval ratings for Mr Albanese rose out of negative territory to a net satisfaction level of zero, with a four-point rise to 43 per cent in approval and a two-point ­decline in disapproval.

ePrime Minister Scott Morrison is clinging to the leadership, according to Newspoll. Picture: NCA NewsWire / Gary Ramage

Mr Morrison maintains his lead as preferred prime minister but the gap between him and Mr Albanese has closed two points to 43-41.

For the first time, Labor polled as the better party to lead the country out of the pandemic, with 33 per cent agreeing that Mr Albanese would be better at handling the recovery, compared with 32 per cent for Mr Morrison and the ­Liberal-Nationals.

Getting out of the pandemic was ranked as the most important issue for voters, above job growth (38 per cent), the economy (26 per cent), climate change (21 per cent) and China’s sway in the region (10 per cent).

The Coalition’s advantage as the better economic manager has eroded slightly, with 33 per cent agreeing the Liberal-Nationals would be better at growing the economy compared to Labor on 31 per cent.

When it came to better leading Australia’s response to climate change, 41 per cent of voters preferred Labor and just 21 per cent the Coalition.