Newspoll: Peter Dutton gains ground as preferred PM

Peter Dutton’s popularity as the preferred PM has picked up despite Labor’s post-election high, according to a Newspoll.

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese’s commanding lead over Peter Dutton as preferred prime minister has fallen despite support for the Labor government lifting to a post-election high.

In an exclusive Newspoll conducted for The Australian, Mr Albanese’s rating as the better PM fell by seven points, while Liberal leader Mr Dutton gained five points — with the gap narrowing from a 39-point lead for Mr Albanese to a 27-point lead.

Mr Albanese has fallen from 61 per cent to 54 per cent, while Mr Dutton, who delivered the opposition’s budget in reply on Thursday, has risen from 22 per cent to 27 per cent.

Opposition leader Peter Dutton said the budget has failed to deliver on election promises. Picture: Getty Images

However, Mr Albanese is well ahead as the preferred leader of the country.

The poll results also found Labor’s primary vote lifting a point to 38 per cent, which is more than five points higher than its election result of just 32.6 per cent.

However, the Coalition also gained ground, lifting four points since the last poll to reach 35 per cent and regained all the ground lost since the election.

The significant lift in support for the Liberal-Nationals primary vote has produced a four-point turnaround in Labor’s two-party preferred lead, reducing the gap from 57-43 per cent to 55-45 per cent.

This remains almost three points above the election result.

BUDGET FAILS TO TOUCH THE HIP POCKET

Almost half of all Australian voters think Labor’s first budget will leave them worse off financially in the next 12 months.

Treasurer Jim Chalmers’ budget has received the thumbs down in terms of how it will help households, receiving a record low response since the Newspoll began measuring voter response to budgets. But only one third of respondents thought the Coalition would deliver a better budget.

The post-budget poll shows that 55 per cent of people surveyed said the budget didn’t do enough to help with cost of living.

A total of 25 per cent of voters said the budget did not pay enough attention to helping with cost of living.

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese and his government’s budget has met with widespread disapproval. Picture: NCA NewsWire / Damian Shaw

But 31 per cent believed that it didn’t do enough on addressing the overall budget structure as well while only 6 per cent of voters said that it was too geared toward cost-of-living relief, and 23 per cent said it balanced both.

Only 29 per cent of voters said the early budget would be good for the economy.

Anthony Albanese and Jim Chalmers have ­defended the budget as an attempt to start the road to post-pandemic budget repair, while delivering ­about $8bn in cost-of-living relief through ­childcare subsidies, paid parental leave and cheaper prescription medicines.

However, this has been overshadowed since the release of the budget by poor forecast for the Australian economy, including inflation and the ­energy crisis that will inflict a 56 per cent increase to electricity bills over the next two years.

Treasurer Jim Chalmers pictured at a press conference in Parramatta. Picture: NCA NewsWire / Damian Shaw

Opposition Leader Peter ­Dutton said the government’s budget failed to deliver on election pledges of wage growth and lowering electricity bills by $275, as promised.

Meanwhile, response to the budget from economists and the business lobby has been mixed.

The main criticism has been that the budget does not outline a strategy for longer-term budget repair with a structural deficit of about $50bn over time.

Opposition leader Peter Dutton said the budget has failed to deliver on election promises. Picture: Getty Images

When judged overall, 29 per cent of voters ­believed the budget would be bad for the economy, the highest since the Coalition’s 2016 budget.

Just 12 per cent of people believed this budget would make them better off, the lowest since 2014 – the Coalition’s “austerity” budget following the 2013 election that declared a budget “emergency” and proposed mass spending cuts.

With the exception of the 2014 budget, the 47 per cent of people who said they would be worse off following this budget was the highest since the measure was first surveyed in 1999.

Voters believe the budget fails to address cost of living and the energy crisis and rising cost of electricity Picture: NCA NewsWire / Jeremy Piper

The budget has failed to alleviate ­people’s concerns and has not convinced voters that Labor has a plan to ease cost of living pressures.

Only 11 per cent of Coalition voters say they would be better off and only 13 per cent of Labor voters said the same.

Fewer Labor voters ­believed they would be worse off than Coalition voters, indicating that the budget was more favoured by Labor voters, although not by a large margin.

Despite Mr Albanese’s claim of a focus on women in the budget, more female voters said they would be worse off than men. Only 25 per cent of women ­believed the budget would be good for the economy compared to 32 per cent of men.

Those over 50 were more likely to believe they would be worse off financially than those aged 18 to 34 – 53 per cent compared to 36 per cent. For those aged between 35 and 49, the number was 46 per cent.

Originally published as Newspoll: Peter Dutton gains ground as preferred PM