Labor hits lead after a dose of Newspoll reality for Coalition

Coalition slumps amid fallout of sexual assault ­allegations, slow vaccine rollout. But Scott Morrison has avoided a major backlash.

Scott Morrison and aged-care resident Jane Malysiak after receiving their second and final COVID-19 vaccination shot at the Castle Hill Medical Centre in Sydney on Sunday. Picture: Bianca De Marchi

The Coalition has slumped to one of its worst electoral points since it was elected in 2019, as the government reels from the ongoing ­fallout of the Christian Porter and Brittany Higgins sexual assault ­allegations and concerns over the slow rollout of the vaccine.

But Scott Morrison has escaped any significant electoral backlash with support for his leadership ­remaining high.

An exclusive Newspoll conducted for The Australian, shows the head-to-head contest has turned sharply in the past three weeks with popular support for the Liberal and Nationals parties falling three points to 39 per cent.

With Labor’s primary vote also lifting two points, to 39 per cent, the poll marks the first time in this electoral cycle that the parties have enjoyed equal support nationally. It has also catapulted Labor into an election winning lead of 52-48 per cent on a two-party-preferred basis, a four point turnaround in the contest.

The poll follows a string of major announcements by the ­government over the past fortnight including a permanent lift in unemployment welfare benefits, a multi-billion-dollar package to kick in once Job­Keeper finishes this month and subsidised airfares for almost one million Australian holidaymakers to support the tourism and aviation sectors.

But the sexual assault allegations that have dominated the media cycle over the past month appear to have swamped the ­government’s attempts to keep the focus on jobs, the economy and the rollout of the COVID-19 vaccine.

While the Coalition’s primary vote has fallen to its second lowest since the election, Mr Morrison’s approval ratings fared better, ­falling only two points to 62 per cent. Those dissatisfied with his performance rose two points to 34 per cent, leaving the Prime Minister with a net approval rating of plus 28 per cent.

Mr Albanese recorded a four-point rise to 42 per cent in approval and a fall of four points in disapproval, returning him to positive net territory — plus one — for the first time since November last year.

While Mr Morrison’s approval ratings remained in the 60s, it was his lowest score since early last year but only a single point lower than the first poll conducted this year.

Mr Albanese’s improved position still left him below the levels he enjoyed late last year.

On the head-to-head measure of who would make the better prime minister, which is more aligned to voting intentions, Mr Morrison suffered a four-point fall to 56 per cent while Mr Albanese gained four points against his rival to 30 per cent.

This is the tightest margin between the two leaders since pre-pandemic levels.

The latest poll shows the Greens remaining stable at 10 per cent, One Nation unchanged at 3 per cent and a one-point rise for other minor parties to 9 per cent.

The last time the Coalition fell significantly behind Labor on two-part-preferred support was in January and February last year, following intense criticism of Mr Morrison’s handling of the bushfire crisis.

The Coalition’s primary vote fell to 38 per cent against a Labor primary vote of 35 per cent, resulting in a two-party-preferred split in Labor’s favour of 5248. Mr Albanese had also pulled ahead of Mr Morrison as preferred prime minister for the first time.

The latest Newspoll was based on 1521 online interviews conducted between March 10 and 13.

Anthony Albanese’s approval rating is in positive net territory for the first time since November. Picture: Gaye Gerard