Greens’ support at nine-month low, Bandt among least popular MPs

Voters have turned away from the federal Greens, with support for the minor party falling to its lowest level since February, while party leader Adam Bandt has been rated the third most unlikeable federal politician after Lidia Thorpe and Pauline Hanson.

Voters surveyed last week by the Resolve Political Monitor for this masthead also marked down many of the crossbench party’s signature policies, including ending negative gearing and capital gains tax, and recognising Palestine.

Greens leader Adam Bandt, flanked by senators Dorinda Cox (left) and deputy leader Mehreen Faruqi.Credit: Fairfax Media

However, while support for the Greens is ebbing, the party could still increase its seat count at the next election if its key messages land with target demographics, such as university students, recent graduates and older Baby Boomers in winnable seats such as Wills, in inner-north Melbourne, or Richmond, centred on Byron Bay in NSW.

The exclusive findings show the Greens’ net likeability rating has fallen to a low of minus 19 percentage points, down from minus 1 at the last federal election.

Bandt’s net likeability has reached minus 15 percentage points, with only independent senator Thorpe (minus 40 percentage points) and Hanson (minus 23 percentage points) more “unlikeable”, while maverick MP Bob Katter also recorded a likeability rating of minus 15.

Just 10 per cent of voters had a positive view of Bandt, 26 per cent were neutral, 26 per cent had a negative view and 38 per cent were unfamiliar with him.

The Greens and Bandt’s likeability ratings are the equal lowest figures the party and its leader have recorded in the Resolve poll. They compare to a minus 4 percentage point likeability rating for Labor and minus 10 for Prime Minister Anthony Albanese.

Opposition Leader Peter Dutton’s net likeability was minus 1 and the Liberal Party was 7 percentage points, while Greens housing spokesman Max Chandler-Mather had a likeability rating of minus 3.

The monitor surveyed 1621 people across Australia from Wednesday to Sunday, producing results with a margin of error of 2.4 per cent.

The November poll tracked a 1 percentage point dip in the Greens’ primary vote from the previous month to 11 per cent – its lowest level since February.

That finding, though within the margin of error, comes after the party in late October lost seats in the Queensland election and left the governing coalition with Labor in the ACT after its vote went backwards in the territory.

The poll follows a difficult few months for the crossbench party after Chandler-Mather was condemned for joining a CFMEU rally in Brisbane in late August, Labor accused the Greens of lending support to pro-Palestinian activists who have targeted federal MPs’ offices, and 15 former Greens staffers alleged bullying and bad behaviour by the party’s First Nations spokeswoman, senator Dorinda Cox.

Voters were lukewarm or undecided on a swath of the Greens’ key policy pledges, with less than a third – 30 per cent – of voters supporting a proposed ban on new coal and gas projects, while 36 per cent were opposed and 34 per cent were undecided.

Similarly, recognising a Palestinian state and removing Israeli settlers was backed by 28 per cent of voters and opposed by 26 per cent, with 47 per cent undecided. Thirty-seven per cent of those surveyed backed phasing out negative gearing and capital gains tax breaks, 24 per cent opposed and 39 per cent were undecided.

But expanding Medicare to make visits to doctors, psychologists and dentists free was backed by 73 per cent of voters and opposed by just 8 per cent, while a 40 per cent tax on big corporations’ excess profits was backed by 55 per cent of people and opposed by 19 per cent.

The party’s policy of freezing and capping rent increases won 52 per cent support, with 23 per cent of voters opposed and 25 per cent undecided.

Resolve pollster Jim Reed said voters’ perceptions of the Greens brand had become more negative since the 2022 federal election, which had led to seat losses in state polls.

“Voters expect the Greens to be an acceptable third choice, with a particular environmental or progressive slant, but their recent forays into Gaza and union politics have confused people. There’s nothing progressive or green about the CFMEU or Hamas. If there is a strategy behind any of this, it’s completely misaligned,” Reed said.

“It’s premature to say they are past their peak, but if the Greens want to grow again, they’d need to start acting more like a mainstream party. That means focusing on broad issues and their more palatable policy positions, and avoiding the temptation of devolving into an activist group on side-issues.”

But an Australian Greens spokesperson said polling numbers jumped around and the results were a “badge of honour”.

“I’m not surprised there is significant support for Greens’ cost-of-living policies like getting dental and mental health into Medicare and freezing and capping rent increases, funded by taxing the big corporations,” the spokesperson said.

“The more we’re in the contest, the more people hear what we stand for and like it, but the more attacks we get. The growing attacks on us and Adam might take some paint off, but the others are doing it because our cost-of-living and climate policies are popular.”

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