Voter satisfaction with Prime Minister Julia Gillard has plunged to a new low while the Coalition has opened up a huge 18 per cent lead after preferences in the latest opinion poll.
As the Government searches for a solution to the dilemma thrown up by last week’s High Court decision, Newspoll has Julia Gillard’s personal support hitting a new low of just 23 per cent.
Dissatisfaction with her performance has jumped seven points to 68 per cent, giving the PM a net approval rating of minus 45 per cent.
In another blow to Ms Gillard, her predecessor Kevin Rudd leads her by more than 30 percentage points in the preferred PM stakes.
Fifty-seven per cent of participants would prefer Mr Rudd to lead Labor, with only 24 per cent preferring Ms Gillard.
It is also the sixth Newspoll in a row to show Opposition Leader Tony Abbott as preferred prime minister over Ms Gillard.
Mr Abbott jumped four points to 43 per cent, his highest rating, while Ms Gillard fell four points to 34.
The Coalition is up to 50 per cent in the primary vote while Labor remains stagnant on 27 per cent. After preferences the Coalition leads by 18 points.
Newspoll CEO Martin O’Shannessy says Labor would lose as many as 40 seats if an election was held today.
“That would displace nine ministers [on a uniform swing],” he said.
“Maybe two-thirds [of the 40-seat figure] is more likely but that would still be devastating for Labor, losing 30 seats, taking them down to somewhere around 44 [seats] or less in a 150-seat parliament.”
The full ABC Online story, HERE
• Dr Kevin Bonham: … her netsat has gone down to -45 (the fifth worse in Newspoll history, with the four below it all being Keating in late 1993) and Labor’s 2PP is down to 41. There is no precedent for a government being reelected from either position, although the -45 is only one point worse than Keating’s pre-election worst: HERE
