Liberal MP admits ‘broken faith’ amid Hanson poll surge

By Zac de Silva

The Liberal Party insists there is plenty of time to regain voter support after a new poll showed Pauline Hanson is now the preferred prime minister.

Liberals concede their party has broken faith with voters as a new poll shows more Australians would prefer Pauline Hanson as prime minister than any other political leader.

The One Nation leader has now overtaken Anthony Albanese as preferred prime minister while the coalition’s primary vote has plunged to a record low, according to a Resolve poll published in the Sydney Morning Herald and the Age.

Thirty-three per cent of voters said they wanted Senator Hanson to lead the country, compared to 29 per cent for Mr Albanese and 22 per cent undecided.

Just 16 per cent preferred Opposition Leader Angus Taylor for prime minister.

Liberal frontbencher Aaron Violi said voters were unhappy with the coalition after two breakups and a leadership change, but insisted there was plenty of time to reverse its political fortunes.

“We know we have broken faith with the Australian people as a Liberal party, as the Nationals, as a coalition. We need to work really hard to win that trust back,” he told Nine’s Today show on Monday.

“We’ve got two years until the next election – there’s a lot to play out.”

One Nation MP Barnaby Joyce said he was “sanguine” about the shifting political momentum and cautioned the 2028 election would likely show a different result.

“The first thing is don’t get carried away. I’m very aware of hubris … we will concentrate on the here and now,” he told ABC Radio National.

Sunday’s poll was the first Resolve survey to give respondents a choice of three options for preferred prime minister.

One Nation’s primary vote surged five points to 29 per cent – meaning nearly a third of all voters would put the party first on their ballot paper if an election were held today.

Labor trailed slightly behind on 28 per cent – a one-point dip – while the Liberals and Nationals sat on a combined 20 per cent, down three points from the previous survey.

Assistant treasurer Daniel Mulino conceded voters were angry with the high cost of living but insisted Labor was the only party with solutions to the problem.

“What I’d say about One Nation is that they are very good at identifying grievances, they’re not very good at solutions,” he told ABC Radio National on Monday, attacking Senator Hanson’s voting record on workers’ rights.

The Resolve survey also shows support for ending the 50 per cent capital gains tax discount – a centrepiece of Labor’s May budget – has dropped five points in the last month to 31 per cent amid a fierce campaign against the reform.

The number of voters who backed the government’s clamp-down on negative gearing also fell two points – although that was within the margin of error – while just 29 per cent supported a new minimum 30 per cent tax rate on trusts.