Anthony Albanese is delivered a wakeup call as poll reveals the key battleground states turning against the PM

Anthony Albanese could be on course to become prime minister for just one term, as new polling shows Labor’s primaries failed in three key states.

The federal government is in deep trouble in the eastern states, where most of the seats are. In Queensland, Labor has fallen to 24 percent, in Victoria to 28 percent and in New South Wales to 32 percent.

In terms of party preference, Labor is losing to the Coalition in Queensland by 57-43, Victoria by 52-48 and New South Wales by a tie at 50-50. All good news for Opposition Leader Peter Dutton.

There is one major reason why the government is stuck in a rut with elections in eight months: the cost of living. Busy.

The online poll for News LtdThe poll, which polled the views of 10,239 voters, followed the latest quarterly national accounts figures, which showed households cutting spending in their fight against inflation and high interest rates.

People who participated in the survey clearly showed in their responses that they were having a hard time.

“The prices of things like food and fuel keep going up,” one of them said.

Another added: ‘It’s getting harder to make ends meet. Rates remain high, but wages don’t increase.’

The poll, conducted by Sydney agency Wolf + Smith, found support for One Nation rose by 4 per cent, the Greens by 1 per cent and support for independent voters rose by 3 per cent.

The only bright spot for Labor at the state level is South Australia, where the pre-election vote was 41 percent, with 60 percent in favor of the two-party preferred measure.

The national poll shows Labor’s primary polling at just 29 percent of the vote, while the Coalition is on 36 percent.

The preference flow of GroenLinks voters and other parties means that the Labour Party still has a lead in the coalition, 51 to 49, based on a two-party preference. This could lead to one of the parties forming a minority government, rather than an outright victory.

Pollster Yaron Finkelstein said voters wanted Albanese and his colleagues to focus on the cost of living, housing and the economy.

“Labor struggled to gain power in 2022 on a historic low primary vote, so they can’t afford to go backwards like this,” he said. News Ltd.

“The problem just isn’t going away,” he said. “(Voters) aren’t seeing price changes and they’re not seeing governments doing much about it.”

While most surveys ahead of federal elections show a tangle of issues affecting voters, this survey stands out for the clear priority given to cost of living over all other issues.

The cost of living was cited as the top concern by 41 percent of respondents, followed by housing and the economy at 10 percent each.

But in some states other factors were also of great importance. For example, for many voters in Queensland, crime and safety were of great importance.

The federal government is in serious trouble in the eastern states, where most seats are, with Labor down to 24 percent in Queensland, 28 in Victoria and 32 in NSW (pictured are Sydney residents)

Crime was cited as the top problem by 13 percent of Queenslanders, and as one of the top three concerns by 30 percent of respondents.

In South Australia, health care was an important issue for 25 per cent of voters, while in Tasmania health came second after cost of living.

Tasmania showed strong support for minor parties and independents, with 11 percent saying they would vote for the Jacqui Lambie Network, the Greens on 14 percent and a whopping 15 percent of people saying they would vote for independents.

The Labor Party’s primary vote in the island state is at 23 percent, while the Liberals’ is at 32 percent.