Newspoll: Premiers sky high as Daniel Andrews’ halo slips

Trust in Daniel Andrews’ handling of the virus has fallen as voters in most other states back their leaders.

While 72 per cent of Victorians still believed Daniel Andrews was doing reasonably well, this represented a 13-point drop since April. Picture: Getty Images

Victorian Premier Daniel Andrews has suffered a sharp drop in support for his handling of the coronavirus, with federal author­ities fearing the state could become the source for a second wave outbreak of the disease.

An exclusive Newspoll conducted for The Australian has revealed a marked fall in voters’ trust in the Victorian Labor leader to keep the virus under control amid threats of a return to lockdown following a blowout in the number of cases recorded in the state over the past week.

It stands in contrast to the increasing confidence voters in most other states are placing in their leaders who have all largely succeeded in suppressing the virus and are moving to rapidly phase out social restrictions.

 

Queensland Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk stocks have risen after having committed to reopening the Queensland border within weeks, with NSW Premier Gladys Berejiklian, South Australian Premier Steven Marshall and Tasmanian Premier Peter Gutwein enjoying increased support.

The Tasmanian Liberal leader has now replaced West Australian Labor Premier Mark McGowan as the country’s most popular premier.

The poll of 2949 voters across six states shows that despite widespread anger at the protest rallies and the breaching of social distancing rules, there remains an unprecedented level of trust in the state premiers’ abilities to keep people safe through the crisis.

 

While 72 per cent of Victorians still believed Mr Andrews was doing reasonably well, this represented a 13-point downward turn since April.

In what would appear to be a blunt message to the Premier, the number of people who believed he was doing “very badly” almost trip­led while those claiming he was doing “very well” plunged from 52 per cent to 31 per cent.

Mr Andrews also appears to have been punished for the corruption and branch-stacking allegations that have rocked the Victorian ALP in recent weeks, with voters marking down his overall performance as Premier.

Support for Ms Palaszczuk’s handling of the pandemic, including strict border controls, rose from 72 per cent to 76 per cent.

 

Mr Marshall enjoyed a five-point bounce to 87 per cent of ­people believing he had done well to manage the state through the pandemic.

Backing for Mr Gutwein also rose four points to 93 per cent to sit alongside Mr McGowan.

Ms Berejiklian had a two-point rise, with 79 per cent of NSW voters claiming she was generally doing well in the crisis.

The state-based assessments were largely in line with voters’ views of the way Scott Morrison has been managing the crisis.

However, with deepening concerns about the economic fallout, the Prime Minister saw a softening in the numbers across all states except Queensland where he recorded a 10-point spike in support.

Prime Minister Scott Morrison saw a softening in the numbers across all states except Queensland, where he recorded a 10-point spike in support. Picture: Getty Images