This article is from the source 'guardian' and was first published or seen on . It last changed over 40 days ago and won't be checked again for changes.

You can find the current article at its original source at https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2018/mar/05/turnbulls-popularity-drops-as-joyce-saga-rolls-on-newspoll-shows

The article has changed 4 times. There is an RSS feed of changes available.

Version 0 Version 1
Turnbull's popularity drops as Joyce saga rolls on, Newspoll shows Abbott: Turnbull must show cause to stay PM after 30 negative Newspolls
(about 3 hours later)
Malcolm Turnbull is only narrowly clinging to his preferred prime minister status following upheavals that continue to disrupt the government, the latest Newspoll reveals. If Malcolm Turnbull hits 30 Newspolls trailing Labor, he will have to explain why he shouldn’t go as prime minister, Tony Abbott has warned.
He is sitting on 37%, just ahead of the opposition leader, Bill Shorten, on 35%, according to the poll published by the Australian on Sunday night. The prime minister was 14 points ahead of Shorten at the start of February. Turnbull is only narrowly clinging to his preferred prime minister status following upheavals that continue to disrupt his government, the latest Newspoll reveals.
Satisfaction ratings of both men also fell, with Turnbull dropping two points to 32% and Shorten down one to 33%. Despite registering a 14-point lead at the start of February, Turnbull’s lead as preferred prime minister has collapsed 12 points over the last four weeks as the Barnaby Joyce affair has taken its toll.
There was no change to the two-party preferred vote, which still has Labor on 53% and the Coalition on 47% – the 28th consecutive poll the government has been behind. Turnbull is now sitting on 37% as preferred PM, just ahead of Shorten on 35%, according to the poll published by the Australian on Sunday night. The two men were sitting at 45% to 31% at the start of February.
The Coalition’s primary vote rose one point to 37% and Labor’s went up by the same margin to 38%. And the Coalition is again trailing Labor in the two-party preferred vote, 47% to 53%.
Former Nationals leader Barnaby Joyce resigned as deputy prime minister a week before this poll was conducted. It marks the 28th consecutive poll the government has been behind Labor under Mr Turnbull’s leadership.
The poll was conducted before Joyce’s admission that he did not know if the baby his partner is carrying was his. When Turnbull challenged Abbott for the prime ministership in late 2015, he cited 30 consecutive Newspoll losses as a reason why Abbott had to go.
He said at the time: “The one thing that is clear about our current situation is the trajectory. We have lost 30 Newspolls in a row. It is clear that the people have made up their mind about Mr Abbott’s leadership.”
But in December last year, Turnbull said he regretted using the metric of “30 Newspolls” because it had become a distraction. He said Abbott had to be replaced in 2015 because he had not been providing the economic leadership Australia needed and he was not treating cabinet properly.
But Abbott has jumped on this week’s Newspoll, saying Turnbull will have to explain why his 30-consecutive poll metric shouldn’t apply to him.
“I never made the polls the be all and the end all, I never turned the poll into the ultimate test of leadership,” Abbott told 2GB radio on Monday.
“It was the prime minister who set this test and I guess if he fails the test it will be the prime minister who will have to explain why the test was right for one and not right for the other.
“It will be up to him to tell us all why the test doesn’t apply in his case,” he said.
The last few weeks have been consumed by news about former Nationals leader Barnaby Joyce, who resigned as deputy prime minister a week before this poll was conducted.
The poll of 1,657 people was conducted between Thursday and Sunday. On Saturday, Joyce sparked controversy again by publicly casting doubt on the paternity of the child of his former staffer and now partner, Vikki Campion, who is expecting in April.
Then in an interview with Fairfax Media on Sunday Joyce suggested the identity of the biological father was “a grey area” but said it made no difference because he intended to raise the boy as his own.
In an attempt to get the government’s messaging back on track in recent weeks, the government has been pursuing a “Kill Bill” strategy by refocusing attention on Shorten’s union links and his criticism of the Adani coalmine.
But the strategy hasn’t boosted the government’s position in voters’ eyes. Its primary vote has risen by just one point to 37%, while Labor’s rose by the same margin to 38%.
However, the satisfaction ratings of both leaders have fallen, with Turnbull dropping two points to 32%, and Shorten down one to 33%.
Labor frontbencher Michelle Rowland said the government was too focused on attacking Mr Shorten.“If they spent more time focusing on the Australian people ... they would see much better results,” she told Sky News on Monday.
Nationals minister Keith Pitt, who will be sworn back in to the frontbench on Monday, conceded it had been a messy start to the year but said his constituents weren’t interested in the gossip and rumours.“I don’t work on the set of Days of Our Lives. This a serious building where serious decisions are made and we continue to be focused on that,” he told Sky News.
Australian Associated Press contributed to this report
Australian politicsAustralian politics
Malcolm TurnbullMalcolm Turnbull
Bill ShortenBill Shorten
Barnaby JoyceBarnaby Joyce
newsnews
Share on FacebookShare on Facebook
Share on TwitterShare on Twitter
Share via EmailShare via Email
Share on LinkedInShare on LinkedIn
Share on PinterestShare on Pinterest
Share on Google+Share on Google+
Share on WhatsAppShare on WhatsApp
Share on MessengerShare on Messenger
Reuse this contentReuse this content