Politics

Latest poll shows support for Malcolm Turnbull at all-time high

Jun 18, 2018

Satisfaction with the PM has reached its highest point since the last election. Source: Getty.

Support for Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull has reached its highest level since the last election, with opposition leader Bill Shorten trailing behind.

According to the latest Newspoll carried out by The Australian, voters’ satisfaction with the PM has hit 40 per cent for the first time since June 2016, with Turnbull maintaining his position as the most popular choice to lead the country.

Turnbull, who took over as leader of the Liberal Party in 2015, is seen as the “better” choice to lead Australia after securing 46 per cent of the vote, while the majority of those asked said they were dissatisfied with the way Bill Shorten is carrying out his job as Leader of the Opposition.

However, while Turnbull came out on top as the preferred national leader, his government is still trailing behind Labor, with Monday’s results bringing the total to 34 consecutive losing Newspolls for the Coalition under Turnbull’s leadership.

The results are likely to cause a stir as Turnbull famously used Tony Abbott’s total of 30 negative polls to challenge the former PM for the leadership in September 2015. There were calls for the serving prime minister to step down earlier this year when he equalled Abbott’s record, and he has now surpassed that number by four.

Shorten may not be the number one choice to take the top job, but he has maintained his hold in the election contest with Labor retaining their lead in two-party preferred stakes after securing 52 per cent of the vote, compared to 48 per cent in favour of the Coalition.

According to the most recent results, just 33 per cent of voters said they were satisfied with Shorten’s performance as opposition leader, while dissatisfaction with Turnbull actually increased by one point to 50 per cent. Both party leaders still hold net negative satisfaction ratings, with Shorten on minus 22 per cent and Turnbull on minus 10 per cent.

The Newspoll also revealed that Pauline Hanson’s One Nation suffered a two-point drop in popularity, giving the party one of its lowest primary votes recorded since the July 2016 election. The decline comes after the public feud between Hanson and her former One Nation senator Brian Burston, who quit last week.

More than 1,600 Australians were questioned for the poll, which covered a time period marked by the ongoing Barnaby Joyce affair scandal.

The results also showed that the Greens clawed back a point with 10 per cent of people saying they would vote for the party if an election was held today, while a point was also gained by ‘other’ minor parties and independents.

An earlier Newspoll conducted by The Australian last month revealed that, while the Labor party is ahead of the Coalition, many voters would like to see Anthony Albanese take over the top job from Mr Shorten. The findings revealed that Shorten is the least popular opposition leader of all time, with 26 per cent of voters pledging their support for Albanese, compared to 23 per cent in favour of Labor’s current leader.