Newspoll: 52-48

After delaying feeding the chooks for a few hours, The Australian has unloaded its full Newspoll results. Labor’s two-party lead is steady on 52-48, while the Prime Minister’s personal ratings are 48 per cent satisfied and 41 per cent dissatisfied – his worst results yet on both measures. His previous nadir was two surveys ago, when he scored 50 per cent and 40 per cent: in between the figures were 51 per cent and 40 per cent. Labor is down a point on the primary vote to 39 per cent while the Coalition is steady on 41 per cent, with the Greens up two to 11 per cent. Tony Abbott’s approval rating is down a point to 47 per cent while disapproval is steady on 38 per cent, which means his net rating has edged ahead of Rudd’s. Rudd nonetheless holds a steady 55-30 lead as preferred prime minister.

Better news for Labor from Essential Research: Labor’s lead is up from 54-46 to 56-44, which as Possum notes is their best result this year. Also featured are questions on parental leave (Labor’s scheme is much preferred, which would disappoint Tony Abbott); a question on “attributes of the Labor Party”, which finds them going backwards across the board since July; and the same question for the Liberals, which shows mixed trends. Labor nonetheless remains much better favoured overall. There are also questions on attitudes towards and usage of the media, with the ABC brand maintaining its lustre and “internet blogs” remaining very much the media’s ugly kid brother.

Finally, Possum has some fascinating leaked polling on voting intention across five Queensland state seats, which was commissioned by six unions from UMR Research. It confirms the trend of other polling in finding a disastrous plunge in support for Labor, and finds the unheralded post-election announcement of government asset sales has done most of the damage.

Author: William Bowe

William Bowe is a Perth-based election analyst and occasional teacher of political science. His blog, The Poll Bludger, has existed in one form or another since 2004, and is one of the most heavily trafficked websites on Australian politics.

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