A new poll has found that voter support for Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has fallen to the lowest level since he was elected president.
The Newspoll suggested The Australian of 1,258 voters nationally last week found the Coalition has overtaken the Labor Party with a 51-49 lead on a two-party preference basis.
It is the first time since the 2022 election that Labor has backed the opposition.
It also puts pressure on Albanese’s hopes for a second term and signals that Labor must secure the support of the Greens if it is to win a second term in government.
Even in the primaries – including the smaller parties – Labor remains at 31 percent, the lowest level since it achieved a result of 32.6 percent at the last election.
The poll reflects a continued decline for the Albanian government, which has slowly lost support over the course of its current term.
It follows a turbulent time for the party, amid accusations of cowardice over its stance on Israel and recent pro-Palestinian protests in major cities.
The result also marks a major negative milestone for Mr Albanese, who last month boasted that his government had never lost a Newspoll..
New polls have shown that Prime Minister Anthony Albanese’s Labor Party (pictured with fiancée Jodie Haydon) has fallen behind the Coalition in the two-party preferential vote
Albanese’s approval rating fell to its lowest level since he became prime minister, falling to negative 14 to level with opposition leader Peter Dutton.
However, Albanese still has a 45-37 lead over Dutton over which of the two leaders would be the better prime minister.
His approval rating also remains at 54 percent, two points ahead of Mr Dutton.
However, the Prime Minister’s disapproval rating of 54 percent is two points higher than that of his rival.
The Labor Party’s decline follows a heated weakness in parliament focused on foreign affairs, including the anniversary of the October 7 attacks on Israel.
Pro-Palestinian protests in Sydney and Melbourne on the eve of the anniversary condemned the prime minister and his government for their actions in the region.
“It’s time for Anthony Albanese and all his little fucking genocidal minions to get the hell out of that government,” she said at the meeting.
“Not long ago he pretended to be one of us… he’s the worst of the worst.”
It is the first time that the coalition has taken the lead in the poll since the 2022 elections were lost. However, their leader, Peter Dutton (pictured at the Bathurst 1000 on Sunday), remains behind Mr Albanese as the ‘better Prime Minister’
Mr Albanese has previously said Australia has not supplied Israel with weapons for five years and that he supports other countries in limiting the weapons given to Israel.
Voters surveyed were also questioned on topics including the cost of living, supermarket prices and the Labor Party’s internal divisions over negative gearing.
The negative drop came after Labour’s concerted campaign to damage the Coalition’s nuclear plans.
The campaign appeared to be a miss by the government, as cost of living pressures and concerns about interest rates continued to be the main opinions for voters.
The poll predicts the potential for a hung parliament in the upcoming elections, which will take place in or before May.
In other polls, Pauline Hanson’s One Nation party increased its primary support by one point to seven percent, while the Greens are on 12 percent after falling two points.
Primary support for blue-green independents remains unchanged at 12 percent.