Albanese’s approval dips in Newspoll but Labor still 10 points ahead of Coalition
Labor kicks off the parliamentary year with a commanding lead over the Liberal and Nationals parties.
Labor kicks off the parliamentary year with a commanding electoral lead over the Liberal and Nationals parties, despite a fall in approval for Anthony Albanese and a lift in support over summer for fringe independents.
An exclusive Newspoll conducted for The Australian shows Labor maintaining a 10-point margin over the Coalition on a two-party-preferred basis, giving it political momentum ahead of an expected economic downturn this year.
Both major parties have suffered minor falls in popular support since December, but well within the polling methodology’s margin of error.
Labor dropped a point to 38 per cent, while the Coalition fell a point to 34 per cent.
The two-party-preferred lead of 55/45 per cent that the government enjoyed heading into Christmas remains unchanged.
The largest movement in support at a party level was a two-point rise for Independents and fringe minor parties – including the teal independents – to 10 per cent, which is consistent with the election result.
Support for the Greens remained unchanged on 11 per cent while Pauline Hanson’s One Nation Party was also stable at 6 per cent. Clive Palmer’s United Australia Party, which has since been de-registered by the Australian Electoral Commission, remained on 1 per cent, after having secured 4 per cent of the vote at the election.
The results mark the first Newspoll for 2023 and comes ahead of parliament’s return.
The absence of any shift in the contest between the major parties comes despite Mr Albanese being forced to confront several challenges over the summer break.
This includes an outbreak of violence in Alice Springs, threats of a gas shortage by mid-year being blamed on the government’s price cap and a stalled start to building the public campaign for a referendum on a constitutionally enshrined Voice to Parliament.
The most significant movement in the Newspoll survey overall was a notable fall in Mr Albanese’s approval ratings.
The Labor leader still enjoys record high approval ratings overall, which he has sustained since Labor won the election in May 2022.
However, those satisfied with his performance fell five points to 57 per cent.
Those dissatisfied with his performance rose four points to 33 per cent.
Mr Albanese’s net approval ratings have fallen from plus 33 per cent in December to plus 24 per cent in the latest survey.
Opposition Leader Peter Dutton’s approval ratings remained largely unchanged, with a 36 per cent approval rating and a 46 per cent disapproval rating – making a one point deterioration.
His net approval ratings fell from negative 9 per cent to negative 10 per cent.
In the head-to-head contest, however, Mr Dutton made ground on Mr Albanese lifting two points as preferred prime minister to 26 per cent while Mr Albanese dropped three points to 56 per cent.
While lower than December last year, it still gives Mr Albanese a 30-point margin over his rival as the better prime minister and remains above the October result.
The latest poll results showing continued strong support for Labor and Mr Albanese follow controversial decisions made at the end of last year, including the passage of industrial relations legislation and the decision to impose a cap on gas prices.
The latest Newspoll survey was conducted between February 1 and February 4 and surveyed 1512 voters throughout Australia.
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