Newspoll: Voters issue another blow to Anthony Albanese but it’s not all good news for Peter Dutton either

Anthony Albanese’s approval rating among voters remains at its lowest level since he took office nearly two and a half years ago.

The prime minister’s low approval rating comes after the latest poll showed a federal election would result in a neck-and-neck race between the two parties if voters went to the polls now.

Opposition leader Peter Dutton is not faring much better. Voters worried about the high cost of living are convinced he can do no better than Labor to tackle the inflation crisis.

Only 25 percent of voters surveyed in the latest poll News poll conducted for The Australian think inflation will be lower under Dutton, while 18 percent think it will be higher.

The poll also found that a whopping 41 percent of voters believed neither Labor nor the Coalition would do better than the other.

The same 41 percent also believed that inflation would remain the same regardless of who was in power.

The poll shows that Dutton is failing to convince Australian voters that he is the first choice to lead the economy and manage it better than the current government.

The results have led some Liberal MPs to worry that Dutton is not prioritizing the economy.

Another setback for the coalition was that 50 percent of voters were convinced that inflation could be reduced under their leadership, while 35 percent did not believe the party would make any difference.

Younger voters generally thought inflation would be higher under the coalition government, but voters aged 65 and over thought inflation would fall.

The poll was conducted among voters over a three-week period, during the first two weeks of which the issue of Palestinian tourist visas was hotly debated in parliament.

This appears to have had the biggest impact on Mr Albanese, with his disapproval rating rising three points to 54 percent.

This is the highest figure since he came to power in May 2022.

Albanian popularity also fell by two percentage points to 41 percent.

Combined, the prime minister’s numbers are as bad as they have been since he came to power in the country.

Mr Dutton’s approval rating also fell one point to 39 percent.

Dissatisfaction with the coalition leader also rose by two percentage points to 52 percent.

Mr Dutton’s negative approval rating now stands at -13, but it is not his worst showing since taking the leadership role.

Mr Albanese’s net approval rating also fell to -13.

The poll found that both major parties favored the election, even in a two-party battle.

This is the second poll to show this 50-50 split.

It is also the first time since the election that successive Newspoll polls have shown a tie.

The Coalition’s pre-election result fell by one point to 38 percent, but remained unchanged for Labor, which held on 32 percent.

Nor was there any positive vote advantage for Labor after last week’s fall in inflation as a result of federal and provincial energy subsidies.

In the primaries, Pauline Hanson’s One Nation party rose one point to seven percent.

There was no change for the Greens: they remained at 12 percent.

And when it comes to the question of who voters think would make a better prime minister, Albanese fell by 45 percent, the lowest percentage since the election.

The coalition leader lost two points and now stands at 37 percent.

The eight-point difference is above the seven percent difference in the last two Newspolls.

The percentage of Australian voters unable to commit to a leader rose to 18 percent, reflecting growing dissatisfaction with both leaders.

The survey was conducted between 26 and 30 August and polled 1,263 voters across Australia online.