Gap between Labor and the coalition remains tight – as voters give a wake up call to Anthony Albanese about cost of living

Anthony Albanese remains the preferred prime minister over opposition leader Peter Dutton after two new polls showed the major parties neck and neck ahead of the May budget.

A Newspoll published in The Australian shows that most voters think Albanese is the better leader with 48 percent, compared to Dutton with 35 percent.

On a two-party preferred basis, Labor narrowly leads the opposition 51 percent to 49 percent – ​​unchanged from the previous poll.

At the same time, the majority of Labor voters is 33 percent, while the coalition vote is 38 percent.

The results correspond with another poll published by Nine newspapers on Monday.

The Resolve Political Monitor also shows Mr Albanese leading Mr Dutton on the list of favorite prime ministers, with a share of 41 to 32 per cent.

But after preferences, the two parties are tied at 50 percent.

Labour’s primary vote fell by two percentage points to 30 percent, while the Coalition rose by one percentage point to 36 percent.

The Newspoll also asked voters about Labour’s Future Made in Australia Act, which will use public resources to give viable carbon-free industries and projects a head start so they can attract more private investment.

It showed that 56 percent of voters agreed that the government should actively invest in such projects, while 38 percent disagreed.

The Resolve survey asked voters about cost of living pressures. 55 percent said they would struggle to raise the few thousand dollars needed for a major expense.

The poll also found that Australians are most concerned about grocery costs (55 percent) and utility bills (37 percent).

The 2024/25 budget will be announced on May 14.

The Newspoll among 1,236 voters was held online between April 15 and 18.