As politicians return to work after a long summer break, there is bad news on two key fronts for Anthony Albanese and his government, a shocking new poll shows.
An astonishing 81 per cent of Aussies said the Prime Minister has failed to tackle the cost of living crisis – and that voters do not want a referendum on becoming a republic.
A deeply worrying figure for Mr Albanese is that 64 per cent of Labor voters believe his government has failed on the cost of living, as do 90 per cent of Coalition voters.
Most worrying of all is the Freshwater Strategy for News Corp found that more than half of respondents (51 percent) think Australia is going in the wrong direction.
‘We know that many people are having a hard time. That’s why we continue to provide responsible, targeted cost-of-living relief without adding to inflation,” a Labor spokesperson told Daily Mail Australia.
As politicians return to work after a long summer break, there’s bad news for Anthony Albanese (pictured with his partner Jodie Haydon) and the Labor government
And if an election were held today, it would be a 50-50 split between Labor and the Coalition on a two-party basis, marking a massive turnaround from the 2022 federal election.
The public has very little confidence that Labor can turn things around and tackle cost-of-living pressures. 68 percent of respondents say the government will not succeed in this in the next six months.
These figures are of great importance to the success or failure of a government that is now more than halfway through its three-year term, as 74 percent say the cost of living is the most important issue for them.
The failure of last year’s referendum on an Indigenous voice in Parliament is also proving to be a long-term hangover for the Labor government.
Only four percent of voters believe Indigenous issues should be a focus for the Prime Minister and his colleagues.
Some 55 percent of voters said they do not want to hold a referendum on Australia becoming a republic – even though a majority, 52 percent, now say they support the country leaving the monarchy behind.
The only glimmer of hope from the latest opinion polls is that Albanese is still the preferred prime minister over opposition leader Peter Dutton, with a share of 47 to 38 percent.
This is despite more and more people having an unfavorable opinion of the Prime Minister: 43 to 40 percent are against Mr Dutton.
“There is absolutely no confidence that the government is likely to deliver on the promises made on cost-of-living relief,” Freshwater pollster Dr Michael Turner said.
“This time last year he was quite high in the polls in terms of his likeability and voter intentions, and now he has neither… He has forfeited his connection with the voters.”
74 percent of respondents said the cost of living is the most important issue for them. A woman is depicted in a supermarket
Although the government has already backtracked on its intention to hold a referendum on becoming a republic, this is likely to pass, even if more than half of those polled say they do not want to vote on it.
“People are being turned away… it is clear that the Voice referendum has not only been a failure for the government, but a failure for the republican movement,” Dr Turner said.
The poll also showed that the public is highly skeptical of Mr Albanese’s election promise to cut energy prices.
As many as 85 percent of Coalition voters, 61 percent of Greens supporters and 43 percent of Labor voters said they do not believe the promise to cut energy bills by $275 a year.
Things don’t look better for Labor in the longer term, with more than half of voters (51 percent) saying green measures will increase their energy costs.
They believe that the government’s target of reaching 82 percent renewable energy sources by 2030 will lead to higher energy costs.
Only 16 percent think this will reduce their bills.