Many voters blame the Albanese government for runaway inflation despite attempts by the treasurer and a Labor predecessor to throw shade at the Reserve Bank, a new poll shows.
According to the latest Resolve Political Monitor poll for Nine Newspapers, 51 per cent of voters believe the government has the primary duty to rein in soaring prices.
Only 27 per cent of voters blame the central bank, despite comments by Treasurer Jim Chalmers and former Labor treasurer and now party president Wayne Swan criticising the RBA’s reluctance to cut rates.
The Resolve poll also showed the Coalition had maintained a strong lead on which party was the better economic manager, with 37 per cent of voters backing the team led by Peter Dutton and only 26 per cent preferring Anthony Albanese’s Labor line-up.
When asked which side they trusted to keep down the cost of living, 32 per cent named the Coalition ahead of 25 per cent for Labor.
When asked who was best to manage jobs and wages, 33 per cent said the Coalition and 32 per cent said Labor.
A recent opinion poll has delivered more bad news for Prime Minister Anthony Albanese (pictured right with fiancee Jodie Haydon)
Labor saw its primary vote slip from 29 to 28 per cent over the past month, while the Coalition kept steady 37 per cent.
However, on a two-party preferred basis this put the rivals neck and neck.
When voters were asked how they would allocate their preferences, the Coalition climbed to 51 per cent support in two-party terms, while Labor was at 49 per cent.
In one of the only bright spots for Labor, Mr Albanese inched ahead by one percentage point to be preferred prime minister over Mr Dutton, with the men scoring 35 and 34 per cent respectively.
For the minor parties the Greens held their primary vote steady at 13 per cent in the while Pauline Hanson’s One Nation was also unchanged at 6 per cent but support for independents nationwide rose from 10 to 12 per cent.
The recent poll shows Opposition Leader Peter Dutton is being edged out as preferred prime minister by Mr Albanese
Resolve director Jim Reed told Nine newspaper ‘voters thought the RBA is trying to solve the issues caused in part by government’.
‘Being blamed for inflation is even worse than being perceived as not acting to reduce it, which is why the government have been at pains to deflect,’ he said.
‘But that doesn’t seem to be working, with more people deeming the government responsible.’
Following the dismal news last week that the Australia’s GDP grew by just 0.2 percent during the final three months of 2023, Mr Chalmers said high interest rates were ‘smashing’ the economy.
Mr Swan, who was treasurer during the Rudd and Gillard Labor governments, went a step further on Friday and accused the RBA of ‘punching itself in the face’ and of being ‘counterproductive’ by not cutting rates.
‘The government is doing a lot to bring down inflation, but the Reserve Bank is simply punching itself in the face. It’s counterproductive and it’s not good economic policy,’ Swan said.
The Resolve poll also showed the Coalition had maintained a strong lead on which party was the better economic manager,
On Sunday Mr Chalmers distanced himself from Mr Swan’s comments about the RBA, which he said ‘went much further’ than he would have gone.
However, he did not back away from his remark that the bank was ‘smashing’ the economy.
Coalition shadow treasurer Angus Taylor said the Albanese government was trying to blame the bank for its own mistakes.
The poll also showed the Greens holding their primary vote at 13 per cent while Pauline Hanson’s One Nation was unchanged at 6 per cent but core support for independents nationwide rose from 10 to 12 per cent over the month.
The RBA has put the cash rate at 12-year high of 4.35 per cent in an attempt to bring inflation down into the target range of two to three per cent.
In July inflation fell to 3.5 per cent, down from 3.8 per cent in June.
The central bank has forecast that headline inflation won’t fall to 2.8 per cent until June 2025, bringing it back into the target range for the first time since 2021.
