Bushfires: Scott Morrison’s poll plunge ‘to wash out over time’, say Coalition MPs

Scott Morrison’s initial response to the bushfire disaster won’t have a lasting impact on his leadership.

Scott Morrison in Canberra on Sunday. Picture: AAP

Coalition MPs say a plunge in Scott Morrison’s approval rating in the latest Newspoll shows ­voters are unhappy with his handling of the bushfire crisis but his ­initial response to the disaster won’t have a lasting impact on his leadership.

Former Nationals leader Barnaby Joyce said the Prime Minister understood “he could’ve done better” in responding to the bushfires, while Mark Coulton, also a NSW Nationals MP, said the country was feeling a sense of loss and anger.

The Newspoll, conducted exclusively for The Australian, revealed an eight-point drop in Mr Morrison’s personal approval rating since December, and an 11 per cent increase in those dissatisfied with his performance.

On a two-party-preferred basis, the Coalition is trailing Labor for the first time since the federal­ ­election, 49 per cent to 51 per cent.

“It’s understandable,” Mr Coulton said. “I’m not surprised to see (those numbers) but I don’t think it will be the defining moment (for Mr Morrison). I’m disappointed, I guess, but not surprised.

“People are very upset. It’s the biggest thing that’s ever happened to them. People are stressed. The rest of Australia has tapped into that with the coverage of it — they’re all feeling loss and anger.”

A Liberal MP who did not want to be named said Mr Morrison was not proactive enough on the bushfires and had not sufficiently promoted the fact the Australian Defence Force had been involved since September.

They suggested the two-party vote would in time return to where it was before the most recent bushfires, when the government led, 52-48 per cent. “The response overall has been appropriate. I think it will wash out,” the MP said.

Another Liberal MP who did not want to speak on the record said it was a pleasant surprise that the government’s two-party-­preferred vote had held up so well.

“It reflects the fact people are giving the government credit for rising to the challenge over the last two weeks,” they said.

The primary vote tightened in the latest Newspoll but the ­Coalition is still ahead 40 per cent to 36 per cent.

Anthony Albanese, who leads Mr Morrison as preferred prime minister 43 per cent to 39 per cent, said he was not focused on the polls and noted it was still two years until the next election.

Just one month ago, the Opposition Leader trailed Mr Morrison 34 per cent to 48 per cent.

Mr Joyce said the Newspoll was unsurprising but the government would move on, as colleagues agreed there was no need to panic.

“If you think you’re going to ride this pony to the election, you’re going to be bitterly dis­appointed,” Mr Joyce told Labor frontbencher Joel Fitzgibbon on the Seven Network.

“We acknowledge there are ­issues we could have done better and that’s the first thing we say to the Australian people and we will make sure we endeavour to do that.

“If we turn this into a political fight and say ‘Yippee, the Labor Party says we’ve got better polls for once in our lives’ and that’s their best outcome from the bushfires, then that’s a very sad state of ­affairs.”

Mr Fitzgibbon, Labor’s agriculture and resources spokesman, said Mr Albanese was cutting through with voters at the same time as Mr Morrison had tripped up.

“The poll reflects the anger permeating through our communities. The Prime Minister was dismissive of the early warnings, he was slow to act,” he said.

“He took that trip to Hawaii, his responses have been lacklustre and inadequate, but I think even worse, he’s been prone to blaming others and dismissing the concerns raised with him.”

Josh Frydenberg said the government had heard the message “loud and clear” that Australians wanted the government to adopt a direct response to natural disasters and Mr Morrison was focused on delivering for them.