Newspoll: Malcolm Turnbull in plunge to new low

PM’s popularity has tumbled to new lows and Coalition ­support has slipped since July 2, says Newspoll.

Malcolm Turnbull addresses the joint party room meeting yesterday. Picture: Kym Smith

Malcolm Turnbull’s popularity has tumbled to new lows and ­support for the Coalition has slipped since the election eight weeks ago, leaving the government and Labor deadlocked at 50-50, according to the first Newspoll since the government’s narrow victory.

As the 45th federal parliament is sworn in today, voters have overwhelmingly rated ­reducing debt and deficit as the No 1 priority for the Turnbull government, with maintaining border security and resolving the gay marriage debate ranked equal second.

But the issue on which the double-dissolution election was called, to restore the construction industry watchdog, was considered a very low priority.

The Newspoll, taken over the weekend exclusively for The ­Australian, reveals satisfaction with the Prime Minister’s performance has fallen to 34 per cent, his lowest level since he toppled Tony Abbott almost a year ago and down six points since the last measure on the eve of the July 2 election. Dissatisfaction with Mr Turnbull has reached its highest point of 52 per cent, up five points since the election.

For the first time Mr Turnbull’s net satisfaction rating — now at minus 18 points — is worse than the same measure for Bill Shorten, who scored minus 14 points. The Opposition Leader’s satisfaction rating was 36 per cent while his dissatisfaction rating was 50 per cent, largely unchanged.

The poll of 1696 voters taken from last Thursday to Sunday shows the Coalition returns to parliament with a primary vote of 41 per cent, down from the 42.1 per cent result on election day. It is only the third government in the past 30 years to have suffered a fall in its primary vote in the first poll following an election.

Labor’s support rose to 36 per cent, which remains historically low, but is up from 34.7 per cent at the July 2 poll.

The Greens have slipped since their election result of 10.2 per cent to 9 per cent, while support for other parties and independents has increased from 13 to 14 per cent.

In two-party-preferred terms, after preferences, it leaves the ­Coalition and Labor tied at 50 per cent. At the election the Coalition won 50.4 per cent of the two-party vote while the ALP snared 49.6 per cent.

Mr Turnbull remains rated as the better prime minister, leading Mr Shorten by 43 to 32 per cent, with one in four voters undecided. It is Mr Turnbull’s smallest lead over his rival, with his support down five points to the lowest it has been against Mr Shorten while the Labor leader gained one point to climb to his highest measure against Mr Turnbull.

The only other governments to have suffered a fall in their primary vote in the first poll after an election were John Howard’s in 2004 and Julia Gillard’s in 2010, and both were defeated at the next election.

The 1.1-point drop in primary vote for the Coalition in today’s Newspoll compares with a 1.4-point rise for the party under Mr Abbott’s leadership after the 2013 victory. Labor suffered a four-point fall after the 2010 election delivered a hung parliament while the Coalition fell 0.7 points in the first poll after its 2004 victory.

With Governor-General Peter Cosgrove to formally open the 45th parliament at 3pm today, Mr Turnbull yesterday told Coalition MPs “our government will be judged, our parliament will be judged, on what we deliver”.

Despite criticism from some in his own ranks about the “jobs and growth” election campaign slogan being meaningless, Mr Turnbull is sticking by it. “Our plan for jobs and growth was the right one for Australia,” he told MPs. “It has been endorsed by the Australian people. We are back in government, we are here to deliver on it. The 45th parliament is a critical time in our nation’s history and I’m honoured to lead you all in this great endeavour.”

Mr Shorten told a meeting of his frontbench the opposition set the agenda in the last parliament and would lead again as he ­declared Labor “a strong alternative government in-waiting”.

“We return to parliament ­focused on the needs of Australian people, whereas the government is giving all the signs of being paralysed by their internal divisions,” the Labor leader said.

Mr Shorten, speaking after the ecumenical church service for the opening of the 45th parliament, said the Turnbull government had been “very divided” since polling day.

“I’ve been surprised at the paralysis in his government since the last election. They seem very divided,” he said.

His deputy Tanya Plibersek also declared Australians were questioning the re-elected Mr Turnbull and his team.

“The government is at war with itself,” she told ABC radio.

But cabinet ministers played down the poll, with Deputy Prime Minister Barnaby Joyce insisting the government was busy making hard decisions for the nation’s future.

“You will drive yourself crazy if you start worrying about polls at the start of the political term,” he told the Nine Network’s Today Show.

Trade Minister Steve Ciobo said there “could not be a less relevant poll for the parliament than the one immediately after an election”.

“I understand the excitement in the media about the first Newspoll after the election but we’ve just had an election, the Australian people cast their verdict and their decision was to re-elect the Coalition government,” he told Sky News.

“We’re back with a majority government and we’re going to be making decisions that implement the policies that we took to the last election.”