Newspoll: Coalition rides wave of support as fears subside

Popular support for the Coalition has climbed to its highest level since September last year ahead of the Eden-Monaro by-election.

Prime Minister Scott Morrison maintains ­record satisfaction ratings over a six-week period. Picture: Getty Images

Popular support for the federal Coalition has climbed to its highest level since last September ahead of a looming by-election in Eden-Monaro, as Scott Morrison cemented record approval ratings for his leadership during the COVID-19 crisis.

An exclusive Newspoll conducted for The Australian shows the Coalition securing a two-point lift in its primary vote to 43 per cent as voters switch camp from Labor, the Greens and One Nation.

This returned the government to a two-party-preferred lead of 51-49, after being deadlocked with Labor three weeks ago.

Despite the release last week of “devastating” jobs figures with ­almost 600,000 people joining the dole queue, electoral backing swung the Coalition’s way on a surge in support for its management of the economic crisis.

While the Prime Minister’s ­approval rating fell two points to 66 per cent, he still maintains ­record satisfaction ratings over a six-week period. Anthony Albanese also slipped back, with a three-point rise in those who are dissatisfied with his performance as ­Opposition Leader and a one-point drop in approval.

Mr Morrison also maintained a dominant lead as the preferred prime minister, comfortably leading Mr Albanese 56-29.

The upswing for the Coalition came as Labor’s primary vote slipped back a point to 35 per cent, while the Greens suffered a two-point fall to 10 per cent. Pauline Hanson’s One Nation continued to lose ground, falling a point to 3 per cent, with support now below the right-wing minor party’s federal election result. Support for other minor parties rose two points to 9 per cent.

The results show broadened support for the government’s handling of the health and economic crisis across Coalition, Labor and Greens voters. The confidence in the handling of the economic impacts rose to 60 per cent from 33 per cent in early March and 47 per cent at the beginning of April.

Three-quarters of Coalition voters, 53 per cent of Labor voters and 43 per cent of Greens voters said they were satisfied with the collective government approach.

The figures correlate to a slight softening in the fears about the impacts of the virus on the economy, which peaked at 84 per cent of ­voters at the start of April, falling to 78 per cent in the latest survey.

Confidence in the handling of the health impacts also rose significantly after the announcement of a relaxing in restrictions and the flattening of the infection curve across the country, with 78 per cent of voters claiming to be satisfied with the performance of the two tiers of government in managing the public health system’s ability to cope with the crisis.

 Fear of contracting the virus has subsided but it remains the chief concern for most voters, with 51 per cent citing it as their biggest worry. Concern was the highest among Greens voters and less so among Coalition and Labor voters.

Concern about managing the public debt, with almost $320bn in support and stimulus measures announced since the outbreak, rose four points to 42 per cent and was the second-highest worry for voters. Coalition supporters are the most exercised about the issue.

The fear of losing a job fell from 36 per cent to 30 per cent, while concern over the falling value of house prices climbed from 15 per cent to 18 per cent. Those claiming not to be worried about any of the issues raised increased from 7 per cent to 11 per cent.

Confidence in the level of preparedness in the health system also rose sharply, from 41 per cent to 69 per cent.

The Newspoll surveyed 1504 voters across city and regional areas between Wednesday and Saturday. The polling was conducted using online surveys with a margin of error of 2.5 per cent.