Anthony Albanese laughs down challenge call as Labor heartland vote tanks

Anthony Albanese has played down calls to dump him after a poll showed faces losing two seats in its political heartland.

Labor’s primary vote in the NSW Hunter Valley under Anthony Albanese has plummeted since the disastrous 2019 election. Picture: Sean Davey.

Anthony Albanese has played down calls to dump him after a union-commissioned poll revealed the ALP faces the loss of two seats in its political heartland at the next election.

CFMEU national political organiser Elizabeth Doidge — a close ally of the Opposition Leader’s union nemesis John Setka — said Tanya Plibersek would be a better chance to lead Labor to a victory.

“I’ve never heard of the official, frankly, and I’ve never heard of the company that did the alleged poll,” Mr Albanese told 3AW radio.

“I just had a bit of a chuckle by myself frankly, and don’t take it all that seriously.”

Dump Albo call as heartland vote tanks

With speculation increasing that an election could be held in the second half of the year, CFMEU national political organiser Elizabeth Doidge — a close ally of the Opposition Leader’s union nemesis John Setka — said Tanya Plibersek would be a better chance to lead Labor to a victory.

Ms Doidge’s call came as The Australian revealed Labor was on track to lose the Hunter Valley electorates of Shortland and Paterson at the next election, according to polls of 955 people in each seat conducted in November by Chorus Consulting with New Zealand research firm Community Engagement.

Labor’s primary vote in the coalmining electorate of Shortland, held by frontbencher Pat Conroy, has dropped 13 points since the election to 28 per cent compared with the Liberals’ primary vote of 45 per cent.

Labor MP Pat Conroy.

In nearby Paterson, held by Right faction MP Meryl Swanson, Labor’s primary vote has ­fallen by 11 per cent since the 2019 election to 30 per cent.

This is compared to a primary vote of 43 per cent for the Liberal Party and nearly 7 per cent for both One Nation and the Greens.

The Nationals polled at less than 2 per cent in both seats. The margin of error is 3 per cent.

“I would love to see Plibersek up there, I think she would be a fantastic leader,” Ms Doidge told The Australian.

“We definitely want a change of leadership. I’m not necessarily saying it needs to be Plibersek but it definitely needs to be someone other than Anthony Albanese.

“He can’t unite the party, he can’t unite the unions, he doesn’t have the leadership the party needs to win a federal election.”

Ms Doidge, whose Victorian division of the union is furious Mr Albanese forced Mr Setka out of the party, said the poll of the Hunter Valley seats was commissioned by the nat­ional offices of key building unions.

“We are very confident there is going to be a federal election this year and we want to make sure ... any money we might spend on (it) or backing a certain party is going to be well spent,” she said.

“It is clear from these results that Labor cannot win a federal election under Albanese’s leadership.”

Nearly 71 per cent of respondents in Shortland and 65 per cent in Paterson said they were “very certain” they would not change their voting intention before the election.

Labor holds four seats in the Hunter Valley and the region’s most experienced MP, Joel Fitzgibbon, nearly lost his seat at the last election with a 14 per cent primary vote swing.

Liberal strategists believe the party can win Hunter, Paterson and Shortland at the next election as Scott Morrison intends to portray Labor as the party of inner-city elites.

Labor holds four seats in the Hunter Valley and the region’s most experienced MP, Joel Fitzgibbon, nearly lost his seat at the last election with a 14 per cent primary vote swing. Picture: NCA NewsWire/Gary Ramage

In Shortland, voters in all income categories are favouring the Liberal Party. Forty-three per cent of voters on a family income of less than $50,000 are backing the Liberal Party, compared with 35 per cent for Labor.

Support for the Liberal Party increases to 48 per cent of voters on incomes between $50,000 and $80,000, while Labor’s drops to 31 per cent.

In Paterson, Labor is well behind with low-income earners but its stocks improve with people on wages above $80,000.

Thirty-five per cent of voters in Paterson with a family income of between $80,000 and $120,000 intend to support Labor at the next election, compared with 33 per cent for the Liberal Party.

Just 7 per cent of labourers in Shortland, including coalminers, say they intend to vote Labor at the next election, compared with 42 per cent for the Liberal Party and 33 per cent for One Nation.

In Paterson, 42 per cent of ­labourers say they will vote for Labor, compared with 34 per cent who will back the Liberals and 13 per cent One Nation.

Voters in both electorates are strongly supportive of the renewables sector, but wary of climate change policies that will have a negative impact on coalmining. In Paterson, 46 per cent said they would be less likely to vote for Labor if its climate change policy resulted in lower support for coalmining, compared with 34 per cent more likely to vote for the ALP.