Albanese gains ground but PM still leads on economy, security, pandemic

Labor leader Anthony Albanese has gained ground against Prime Minister Scott Morrison in key election tests on managing the economy and the pandemic, building a narrow lead when voters are asked who is best to oversee health and aged care.

Voters have swung to Labor over the past six months when asked which party and leader is united and competent, while cutting Mr Morrison’s lead from 11 to 5 per cent on whether he is the best choice for households.

“The long-term story is one of Scott Morrison and the Coalition losing skin but Labor not necessarily benefiting – or at least not benefitting fully,” said Resolve director Jim Reed.Credit:

Mr Morrison and the Coalition retain big leads on policy performance on the nation’s finances, borders and security, in exclusive findings from the Resolve Political Monitor that reveal the contest on key issues ahead of the election.

Asked which party and leader was best to manage the economy, voters favoured Mr Morrison and the Coalition by 16 per cent in net terms in November, down from a lead of 23 per cent in June.

Asked who was best to manage national security and defence, voters backed Mr Morrison by 20 per cent in net terms, down from 26 per cent.

Asked who was best to manage the COVID-19 situation, voters preferred Mr Morrison by 13 per cent, down from 20 per cent in June.

The trends are based on exclusive monthly surveys conducted for The Sydney Morning Herald and The Age by research company Resolve Strategic, with at least 1600 respondents each month and a margin of error of 2.5 per cent.

“The long term story is one of Scott Morrison and the Coalition losing skin but Labor not necessarily benefiting – or at least not benefitting fully,” said Resolve director Jim Reed.

The net figures reflect the support for one party after subtracting support for other when voters were asked which party and leader would perform best in each policy area, with the most recent figures coming from a survey conducted from November 16 to 21.

Mr Morrison has a significant advantage over Mr Albanese when voters are asked to name their preferred prime minister, leading by 40 to 29 per cent in the November survey.

The gap between the two has narrowed, however, from 46 to 23 per cent in June, with a small shift to Mr Albanese in September and another in November. The number of voters who are undecided on this question has remained relatively stable at around 31 per cent.

Asked which party and leader was honest and trustworthy, voters favoured Mr Morrison and the Coalition by just 2 per cent in the most recent survey, down from a lead of 8 per cent in June.

Asked which side was offering strong leadership, voters favoured Mr Morrison by 11 per cent, down from 21 per cent in June.

The results show the government holds double-digit leads on several major policy issues, including a lead of 19 per cent in net terms on managing finances, but that Labor has gained an edge on healthcare and other issues.

Asked who was best to manage health and aged care, voters prefer Labor and Mr Albanese by 3 per cent. This is a small reversal on the government’s lead of 5 per cent in May, when it unveiled $15.3 billion in funding for aged care in response to the royal commission into the sector.

Labor was also ahead on the environment and climate, with a 4 per cent lead in net terms in the November survey, which was conducted after Mr Morrison outlined his plan to get to net zero carbon emissions by 2050 but before Mr Albanese outlined his deeper cuts to emissions by 2030.

While the Coalition held a small lead on industrial relations in May and August, Labor gained ground in later months and was ahead by 2 per cent in November.

Asked who was best to manage jobs and wages, however, voters preferred Mr Morrison by 2 per cent, the same as the figure in June.