Labor support plunges in pre-budget blow, while Anthony Albanese records lift in voter approval rating

Support for federal Labor has plunged to its lowest levels on record since the last election, while Anthony Albanese retains his lead over Peter Dutton as the preferred Prime Minister.

The latest Newspoll, published by the Australian, shows Labor’s primary vote fell a point to 32 per cent since February.

It is the worst result for Labor since the failure of the Voice referendum in November and comes amid persistent inflation pressures.

Mr Albanese, however, who has spent the last three months spruiking Labor’s stage 3 income tax changes, saw his approval rating rise one point to 44 per cent.

His dissatisfaction rating of 51 per cent has remained the same.

Labor has kept its lead over the Coalition on a two-party preferred basis, leading 51 per cent to the Opposition’s 49 per cent.

Meanwhile, the Coalition’s primary vote has lifted to 37 per cent, nearly two points higher than the May 2022 election result.

Opposition Leader Peter Dutton’s disapproval has risen point to 52 per cent, while his approval rating of 27 per cent has been left unchanged since February.

Mr Dutton unveiled a draft of the Liberal’s nuclear policy to take to the next election last week, which proposes to replace existing coal-fired power generators with a mix of small and large-scale nuclear reactors.

Newspoll Resuts

In a head-to-head comparison on which leader would make the better prime minister, Mr Albanese rose a point to 48 per cent while Mr Dutton fell a point to 34 per cent.

Nationally, voter support for the Greens has increased a point to 13 per cent, while Pauline Hanson’s One Nation also rose a point to 7 per cent.

Support for other minor parties and independents, including teals, has dropped nearly 4 points since the 2022 election, falling to 11 per cent.

The Newspoll surveyed 1223 voters between March 18 and 22.