Labor vote crashing: Shock poll result for Anthony Albanese
Australians have revealed how they are feeling about the next Federal Election — in particular a plausible outcome about who will lead the country. Have your say in our poll.
A new national poll showing the strong possibility of a hung parliament after the next federal election has prompted a dramatic response from readers, many of whom are concerned about Labor forming a minority government with the Greens or teals.
The national online poll of 10,239 Australians by Sydney-based agency wolf + smith shows voters are deserting Labor but increasing their support for the Greens (up 1 per cent), teal independents (up 3 per cent) and One Nation (up 4 per cent).
The Labor government led by Julia Gillard between 2010 and 2013 was a minority government, after she brokered a deal with the independent MPs Andrew Wilkie, Rob Oakeshott and Tony Windsor, and the Greens MP Adam Bandt.
While supporters of a minority government say they keep parties in check, critics say they are a recipe for chaos.
“I’m absolutely petrified about a hung Labor/greens parliament. They WILL devastate our economy. And Labor WILL do a deal with the greens if they need to form government,” one reader posted in response to our story.
“If the election was held today it would either be a majority Labor or a minority Labor/independent [government]. Liberals still don’t have the numbers and they will have even less when their “Unclear”(Nuclear) power plan is put under the spotlight,” another posted.
A separate News Corp online poll revealed the majority of responders were concerned about the prospect of a minority government.
The poll, which asked News Corp readers: “How concerned are you about the prospect of a minority government?”, received more than 1500 responses.
Most (79 per cent) said they were “extremely concerned” about that prospect. Meanwhile, 16 per cent said their level of concern depended on “who was involved”.
The least popular response, which netted 5 per cent of votes, was for the answer “Not at all concerned”.
Have your say in our online poll:
WHAT THE NEW POLL SHOWS
Labor’s primary vote has crashed to just 24 per cent in Queensland, 28 per cent in Victoria and 32 per cent in New South Wales, the wolf + smith shows.
But Labor is dominant in South Australia, where its primary vote is 41 per cent, and 60 per cent on a two-party-preferred basis.
The poll – which measured both state and federal voting intention – suggests the government is in dire trouble in the eastern states, with just 43 per cent of the two-party-preferred vote in Queensland and 48 per cent in Victoria.
In NSW support for the two main parties is split 50-50.
Nationally, the poll shows Labor has a primary vote of just 29 per cent, although it leads the Coalition on a two party preferred basis, 51 to 49. Primary support for the Coalition is at the level it received at the 2022 election: 36 per cent.
The most recent Newspoll had the major parties with an equal share of the two party preferred vote.
Pollster Yaron Finkelstein said voters wanted the government to focus on the “bread-and-butter issues of the economy, living costs and housing”.
“Labor scraped into office in 2022 on a historically low primary vote, so they can’t afford to go backwards like this,” he said.
While most surveys before federal elections show a tangle of issues affecting voters, this poll is remarkable for the clear primacy of cost of living concerns over all other issues.
Nationally, living costs were named as the number one issue by 41 per cent of respondents, massively exceeding concerns about housing and the economy, which were name checked by 10 per cent of people polled.
Mr Finkelstein said the cost of living issue was significant not just for how many people it affected, but also for how long it has endured as a prime concern.
“It just doesn’t ease up,” he said. “(Voters) don’t see price changes and they don’t see governments doing a lot about it.”
The poll comes after the latest quarterly national accounts were released last week, showing a fall in household consumption as Australians continue to struggle with soaring costs and high interest rates.
Summaries of the accounts were broadly similar; the Australia Institute described it as a “per capita recession” and the Institute of Public Affairs called it “an unprecedented personal recession”.
Cost of living, the economy and housing were the top three voter issues in both NSW and Victoria, with concerns about housing slightly stronger in NSW.
Both states showed similar results, with significant drops in support for Labor and minor parties, and increases to the Coalition, the Greens and the teal Independents.
Voter concern over living costs in Queensland reflected the national trend, but crime and safety also emerged as the key issue for 13 per cent of respondents, and a top-three concern for 30 per cent.
Labor was strongest in South Australia, even increasing its primary vote slightly since 2022, while the Liberals had gone back significantly.
While cost of living and housing concerns were strong in SA, healthcare was a key issue for one in four voters.
Health was also a key issue in Tasmania, second only to the cost of living. While the poll put Coalition support at 32 per cent and Labor at 23 per cent in Tasmania, four in ten voters are going elsewhere. Fifteen per cent support independents, 14 per cent back the Greens and 11 per cent say they will vote for the Lambie Network.
‘SHOCKS ME EVERY TIME I DO GROCERIES’
— Brayden Heslehurst
A Brisbane mum has revealed how much cost of living has impacted her family over the past two years with grocery shopping the biggest hit in her family’s back pocket.
Kellie Saunders, a mum-of-three from Aspley, said the issue was the biggest topic on her mind heading into the state and federal elections.
Shopping at a supermarket during the time of the interview with The Courier-Mail, Mrs Saunders said her budget for groceries had increased at least $100 per week over the past 18 months.
“I would say 12 to 18 months ago, my budget was about $300 per week and now it’s easily $400 for a full family shop but some top-up shopping on top of that as well,” she said.
“It shocks me every time I do the groceries just how expensive everything is.
“It seems like every time you go, you’re spending more and getting less. It really is the main issue for us at the moment.”
Mrs Saunders, who has three girls between the ages of five and 11 and rents the family home in Brisbane’s north, also revealed the other areas where cost of living was impacting her family.
“Probably the cost of the kids playing sports, the way that keeps increasing also has a big impact on families,” she said.
She said there was no choice in the current cost of living climate than to be strict with your budget.
“You’re just being more stringent with your spending compared to ever before,” Mrs Saunders said.
“You can’t just really spend without any accountability like you probably used to be able to.
“You just watch everything you do right now.
“We don’t go out as much as we’d like, going to the movies and things like that but apart from that there’s not really anything where we’ve had to go without.”
Originally published as Labor vote crashing: Shock poll result for Anthony Albanese
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