Malcolm Turnbull’s popularity dives in latest Newspoll

Things aren’t looking too good for Australian prime minister Malcolm Turnbull, with the latest Newspoll published by The Australian showing Labor has retained a 51-49 lead over the Coalition on a two-party preferred basis.

According to The Australian, it’s the 38th consecutive Newspoll the Coalition has fallen behind Labor on the two-party preferred vote. Turnbull’s popularity as preferred prime minister has also dropped. His lead over Bill Shorten has been slashed from 19 to 12 points.

The results also show Aussies aren’t impressed with how Turnbull is performing as leader, with his performance rating dropping six points in just two weeks. This means he is current sitting on a rating of minus 19, almost equalling that of Shorten.

Both the Coalition and Labor saw a drop in the primary vote. The Coalition is at 37 per cent, while Labor also fell one point to 35 per cent. In other news, One Nation has risen to 9 per cent.

The latest Newspoll was conducted by The Australian between August 9 and August 12 and is based on 1,607 voters. It comes two weeks after the Liberal National party underperformed at the Super Saturday by-elections, where it received just 29.6 per cent of the primary vote in Longman.

Read more: Barnaby Joyce: ‘Stupid’ Malcolm Turnbull used my affair for political gain

It also comes as the government has been criticised for its handling of the drought crisis plaguing much of rural Australia. Last Sunday, Turnbull announced a $190 million package to help farmers doing it tough including an increase to the Farm Household allowance, an increase to the asset test and increased mental health services for rural communities. Still, it hasn’t sat well with many farmers.

“Can someone in government today declare this a national disaster and apply all the resources of government to addressing the disaster exactly as was done when Cyclone Larry hit Queensland in March 2006,” 2GB presenter Alan Jones told listeners last Wednesday. “The reaction of the Turnbull government has been disgusting and disgraceful and Malcolm Turnbull if you can’t do this, in this moment of significant difficulty for the nation, then give up the job and give it to someone who can.”

Read more: ‘Disgraceful’: Alan Jones urges pollies ‘to get off their arses’ over drought

Federal politicians are set to return to Canberra on Monday following a six-week winter break. Some of the big issues expected to be debated include the government’s energy policy, corporate tax cuts and euthanasia.

What do you think? Who would you prefer as prime minister of Australia?