‘A worry’: Labor figures voice concern over shock polling results
Bad news for the Albanese Government as new survey shows support for Labor in the outer suburbs of Australia has plunged in recent months.
NSW
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A former Labor MP whose electorate abandoned the party in the 2022 election has conceded new polling that shows a growing trend of outer suburban voters turning away from Labor is “a worry”.
It follows a new Redbridge survey, published exclusively in The Daily Telegraph, which showed primary support for the Albanese Government among outer suburban voters has plunged five points in three months to just 27 per cent.
The Coalition’s primary support in that time has jumped to 46 per cent from 40.
Former Fowler MP Chris Hayes, whose retirement from politics ahead of the last election preceded independent Dai Le sweeping to victory in a shock upset in the seat over Labor candidate Kristina Keneally, conceded the numbers made concerning reading for Labor.
“If those stats hold it’d be a bit of a worry,” he told The Telegraph.
While he said Labor’s catastrophic loss in Fowler in 2022, which included an 18 per cent swing against the party, was “dreadfully unhelpful”, he said the Liberals had their own challenge in areas now held by the Teal independents.
“From personal knowledge, I know Labor has done a heck of a lot for western Sydney, ever since the time of Gough Whitlam,” Mr Hayes said.
The polling comes as Peter Dutton started the year off with a number of trips to Sydney with a focus on former Labor strongholds.
Late last month Mr Dutton was in the city, where he addressed a Liberal rally at West Ryde in support of the party’s campaigns in Bennelong, Parramatta and Reid – all seats currently held by Labor.
Mr Dutton was also in Fowler over the weekend for the Vietnamese Tet Festival, alongside local member Dai Le.
The festival was also attended by Prime Minister Anthony Albanese and Energy Minister Chris Bowen.
The Telegraph revealed late last year the Opposition leader had ramped up his visits to Western Sydney, with at least eight trips to the region in 2024 – compared to four in 2023 and two in 2022.
Labor MP Dr Mike Freelander, whose Macarthur electorate takes in chunks of southwest Sydney, said the polling reflected people in the outer suburbs being hit the worst by soaring prices.
“We’re in a cost of living crisis and our voters are the ones being hit the hardest,” he said.
He clarified that “our voters” included “the people under the most mortgage stress, people buying houses with large mortgages, struggling with transport, education and healthcare.”
“We’re aware of that and we’ve done some things to address that … we don’t take people for granted and we do … have to work as hard as we can to try and support people who are really struggling,” he said.
“I think we’ve done some very good things, but there is more to be done.”
Originally published as ‘A worry’: Labor figures voice concern over shock polling results
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