Scott Morrison’s trustworthiness at lowest point since becoming Prime Minister

Scott Morrison has an uphill battle ahead of him before the election, with a new poll showing his trustworthiness is at an all-time low.

Trust in Scott Morrison has plummeted to a new low, with the Prime Minister charting a difficult path to re-election.

With a federal election due before May 21, Mr Morrison’s leadership attributes have been called into question by a new Newspoll, which reveals only 40 per cent of Australians consider him trustworthy.

That’s down from 59 per cent in August 2020.

Former prime minister Tony Abbott rated 43 per cent at the time he was ousted by Malcolm Turnbull, who at his peak was trusted by 59 per cent of voters.

In comparison, Opposition Leader Anthony Albanese was trusted by 44 per cent people surveyed.

Trust has been an issue for Mr Morrison throughout his tenure.

Last year French President Emmanuel Macron was asked whether he thought Mr Morrison was a liar over a submarine contract and responded “I don’t think, I know”.

Labor has continued to attack Mr Morrison’s trustworthiness in recent months on a number of fronts.

But despite his decline in trustworthiness, voters still rate Mr Morrison as the more experienced leader, with 70 per cent of voters backing him compared to 59 per cent behind Mr Albanese.

Anthony Albanese is considered slightly more trustworthy than Prime Minister Scott Morrison, but the current leader is considered more experienced. Picture: NCA Newswire

Newspoll also found Mr Morrison is currently rating his worst for being “decisive and strong”, with just 48 per cent believing he has those attributes, down from 70 per cent in August 2020.

Mr Albanese rates slightly worse on 46 per cent, however that is a three-point improvement from November.

Voters believe Mr Morrison is the most out-of-touch Prime Minister since Mr Abbott.

Just 37 per cent believe he is in touch with voters, compared to 59 per cent in August 2020.

Meanwhile, Mr Albanese is seen as being the most in touch since he took over the Labor leadership from Bill Shorten.

But neither leader is considered much better than the other in terms of vision for Australia.

In August 2020, 70 per cent of voters believed Mr Morrison has a vision for the nation, but as of last week, only 53 per cent believed the same.

Mr Albanese scored two points better than he did in November at 55 per cent.

Anthony Albanese is considered by voters to understand the major issues better now than he did a year ago. Picture: NCA NewsWire / John Gass

Meanwhile, 60 per cent of Australians consider Mr Morrison to be ‘arrogant’. Picture: Justin Lloyd.

Australians believe Mr Albanese understands the major issues better than he did a year ago, while Mr Morrison scored just one point better than he did in November with 53 per cent agreement.

When asked which leader they believe cares about people more, 57 per cent of voters agree it’s Mr Albanese, while 48 per cent say Mr Morrison.

It’s the lowest score Mr Morrison has ever received, down from the 68 per cent he scored in August 2020.

Arrogance and likeability was also polled in the latest Newspoll.

Sixty per cent of Australians believe Mr Morrison is arrogant, compared to 38 per cent who think the same of Mr Albanese.

Only 44 per cent of Australians consider Mr Morrison “likeable”.

His highest rating on this attribute was 64 per cent in August 2020, and has never rated as highly as Mr Turnbull did in February 2016.

Mr Albanese is faring somewhat better in likeability, with 51 per cent of Australians backing him on this attribute.

But it’s not as high as he scored in December 2019 and is considerably lower than the 64 per cent Mr Shorten scored in February 2015.