A surprising new poll has put Labor ahead of the Opposition just days after Prime Minister Anthony Albanese called an election to be held for May 3.
Voters have turned their backs on Peter Dutton and the Coalition in favour of the Albanese government in the latest Newspoll for The Australian.
Labor (51 per cent) now has a two point lead over the Coalition on a two-party-preferred basis after 1,249 voters were surveyed late last week.
They identified energy prices, income tax cuts and fuel tax relief as their main areas of concern just under five weeks before Aussies head to the polls.
It was the third poll released on Sunday that showed surging support for Labor and Mr Albanese.
Somewhat surprising was that poll showed a substantial amount of criticism about latest budget despite the party’s overall popularity.
The budget, handed down by Treasurer Jim Chalmers on Tuesday, was received as one of the worst for the economy in a decade, the publication reported.
If Labor can retain its current level of support until May, 3, the party could win enough seats to form a majority government for a second consecutive term.
Voters have turned their backs on Peter Dutton and the Coalition, according to the latest polls
Labor led the Coalition 51-49 per cent on a two-party-preferred basis
However, it’s just as likely the election will result in either a hung parliament or minority government.
Labor’s primary vote has risen to 33 per cent after recovering from a low of 31 per cent in recent polls.
It’s Labor’s best result in 2025 and is now in an identical position to how the party entered the 2022 federal election.
Meanwhile the Coalition’s primary vote has fallen to 37 per cent, its lowest support this year.
The Coalition reached a peak in support of 40 per cent in November but has now fallen to just 1.7 per cent above its crushing election loss in 2022.
The blows keep on coming for Mr Dutton with the news that Mr Albanese’s personal approval rating is also growing stronger after it bottomed out in January.
Forty-three per cent of voters approve of the job Mr Albanese is doing, his highest level of support in six months
However, another 52 per cent are unhappy with with the prime minister, which resulted in a net approval rating of minus nine.
Prime Minister Anthony Albanese celebrated a good day in the polls on Sunday by joining Italian born Filomena for morning tea at her Canberra home
The reception for Labor’s budget has been tepid at best with only 16 per cent of taxpayers believing that it will benefit them personally, according to the poll.
Mr Dutton’s approval rating is minus 18, level with former Labor opposition leader Bill Shorten’s popularity prior to the 2019 federal election.
When asked who would be the better prime minister, 49 per cent of voters said Mr Albanese, who’s well ahead of Mr Dutton (38 per cent).
Thirteen per cent remain undecided on who they will vote for on May 3.
Only 22 per cent rated the Budget as good while 38 per cent believe the Coalition would have delivered a better one.
However, 47 per cent believed the Coalition’s budget would have been worse.
Primary support for the minor parties largely remained unchanged with the Greens steady at 12 per cent.
Pauline Hanson’s One Nation fell by a point to six per cent while other minor parties and independents gained two points, rising to 12 per cent.
The slight fall in support for Ms Hanson’s party was likely due to the re-emergence of Clive Palmer and his rebranded Trumpet of Patriots party.
In a new Political Resolver Monitor poll for the Sydney Morning Herald also released on Sunday, Mr Albanese has surged ahead of Mr Dutton as the country’s preferred leader after falling behind the opposition leader earlier this year.
Mr Dutton’s overall approval ratings mirror those of Bill Shorten prior to the federal election in May 2019
Support for Labor and Coalition is deadlocked at 50 per cent on the two-party-preferred vote.
Labor has increased its primary vote by four points to 29 per cent over the past month.
However the Coalition remains ahead, despite its core support slipping by two points to 37 per cent.
It comes after latest YouGov modelling showed Labor is set to win 75 seats on May 3 election, 15 more than the Coalition.
