Pressure builds on Anthony Albanese ahead of US trip

The PM’s standing among voters continues to tank, with a new poll revealing a plunge in his net favourability since May.

Anthony Albanese and Tuvalu Prime Minister Kausea Natano last week during the Pacific Islands Forum in the Cook Islands. Picture: AAP

Anthony Albanese’s standing among voters continues to tank amid rising cost-of-living pressures, 13 rate hikes and the voice referendum fallout, with a new poll revealing the Prime Minister’s net favourability has plunged by 37 points since May.

Mr Albanese will be present in parliament for three out of four question time sessions in the House of Representatives before flying to San Francisco later this week for the APEC summit hosted by US President Joe Biden.

The government faces pressure in parliament over the cost-of-living crisis, social tensions fuelled by the Israel-Hamas conflict, Labor’s industrial relations reforms, and the release of non-citizen detainees with criminal and character concerns following a High Court decision ending ­indefinite detention.

The Coalition will ramp-up its attacks over the government’s union-backed IR shake-up after crossbench senators Jacqui Lambie and David Pocock last week successfully moved to split the Closing Loopholes omnibus bill.

Four non-contentious items, including supporting first responders suffering PTSD and protecting workers experiencing domestic violence from discrimination, are expected to be rejected by the government when the bill returns to the lower house this week. The government has made clear it wants to keep the IR bill intact ahead of a vote in February following a Senate inquiry.

The IR fight comes as Master Builders Australia – a member of the cross-industry alliance campaigning against the workplace relations overhaul – released new polling showing support for splitting the bill.

The Insightfully poll of almost 2700 voters, commissioned by the MBA, claimed more than 60 per cent of Australians supported non-controversial proposals in the IR bill being separated and dealt with immediately.

The survey, conducted from November 3 to 9 and capturing the Reserve Bank’s 13th rate hike, states that “nearly two-thirds of voters agree too many IR changes are being introduced at once”, including 48 per cent of Labor voters polled.

Compared with a similar poll conducted in May, the survey ­reveals that concerns about the cost of living have increased from 45 to 56 per cent, with nearly one in 10 concerned about the cost of housing.

The poll states Mr Albanese, Opposition Leader Peter Dutton and Workplace Relations Minister Tony Burke all have net negative favourability, although Mr Dutton has picked-up support across all voter groups since May.

“Prime Minister Albanese is now net negative among undecided voters (as well as Coalition voters). His favourability has also declined considerably since May among some voter groups who will be heavily impacted by the IR changes, namely blue collar workers, independent contractors (and) business owners/self employed,” the Insightfully analysis states.

The government’s priorities in parliament this week focus on cost-of-living relief for families, gambling reforms, strengthening supports for people with disability, and the second tranche of Labor’s expansion of paid parental leave.

A key element of Jim Chalmers’ Employment White Paper, helping remove barriers for pensioners and veterans looking to re-enter the workforce, will also be progressed.

The Senate will continue debate on the sea dumping bill, which the government failed to pass last week, and will debate the Restoring Our Rivers bill, which underpins Labor’s plan for the Murray-Darling Basin.