Campbell Newman revives election hopes with poll surge

THE LNP has rallied in Queensland, as Campbell Newman continues to wrestle with his unpopularity, Newspoll figures show.

Premier Campbell Newman. Queensland’s LNP government has gone from trailing Labor to a now-­comfortable lead in the latest Newspoll. Picture: Mark Calleja

THE Liberal National Party has staged a comeback in Queensland, as Campbell Newman, going into an election year, continues to wrestle with his unpop­ularity among voters.

Three months after a thumping by-election defeat, the Newman government has gone from trailing Labor to a now-­comfortable lead in the latest Newspoll.

The LNP is on 54 per cent to Labor’s 46 per cent on a two-party-preferred basis, with the government securing a swing of five percentage points from the last Newspoll, held at the end of June when it lost the north ­Brisbane seat of Stafford in a by-election massacre.

The LNP primary vote has jumped seven points from a low of 32 per cent to 39 per cent. Almost all of the LNP gains appear to be at the expense of Clive Palmer’s party and other independents, who collectively have dropped about six percentage points to 18 per cent in the primary vote.

If uniform, the Newman government still could lose more than 15 seats to Labor. The Premier’s seat of Ashgrove is on a knife edge following former environment minister Kate Jones’s confirmation she will recontest the seat she lost to Mr Newman in 2012.

While the LNP government has rebounded in its support — after ending its public brawls with the legal community and promoting successes in health, transport and education — Mr Newman is struggling to personally win back Queenslanders’ support.

QUEENSLAND NEWSPOLL

The former Brisbane lord mayor — recruited by LNP officials into state politics because of his personal popularity while at City Hall — has barely been able to lift his near-record low satisfaction levels among voters.

Despite offering a mea culpa for his combative leadership style and reversing a series of controversial policies after the Stafford defeat, Mr Newman’s satisfaction levels rose from 33 per cent in June to only 35 per cent — among the lowest of any Queensland premier in the modern era.

Another 11 per cent were uncommitted about Mr Newman.

Opposition Leader Annastacia Palaszczuk’s personal satisfaction level rose one point to 36 per cent since June, having peaked at 38 per cent over Christmas. Mr Newman remains preferred premier, polling at 41 per cent to Ms Palaszczuk’s 39 per cent.

The Newspoll results will come as a relief to the Newman government, which had suffered two by-elections defeats — including Stafford, with a swing to Labor of 18.4 per cent — and four consecutive falls in support in Newspoll polling.

After a peak in the primary vote of 24 per cent to “other’’ parties, which included Palmer United Party, it appears Mr Palmer’s public brawls with his former Chinese business partners and PUP colleagues has damaged his aspirations to win seats at the next state election, expected in the first quarter of next year.

The Greens rose two points in primary support, to 10 per cent.

The LNP’s rebound comes as the government announced this month a leasing strategy of the state-owned electricity distribution network, effectively privatising the entire sector, with generators also up for sale.