SKIP TO MAIN CONTENT

Voters back ditching Abbott: Newspoll

The latest Newspoll shows most voters believe the Liberal Party did the right thing in dumping Tony Abbott for Malcolm Turnbull as leader. Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull is refusing to comment on his government losing a poll lead for the first time since he became Prime Minister.

TURNBULL
AAP Source: AAP

2 min read

Published

Source: AAP



Skip to article content

The majority of voters believe the Liberal Party did the right thing by replacing Tony Abbott with Malcolm Turnbull, the latest Newspoll shows.

The poll taken for The Australian shows 57 per cent of voters continue to support September's switch to Mr Turnbull, while 31 per cent do not.

The survey of 1743 people taken from Thursday to Sunday shows 35 per cent of voters believe Mr Turnbull is the best choice for Liberal leader ahead of his deputy Julie Bishop on 22 per cent, Mr Abbott on 14 per cent and Treasurer Scott Morrison on eight per cent.

Among coalition voters, Mr Turnbull's support jumps to 48 per cent, more than double the 20 per cent backing for Mr Abbott, while Ms Bishop is third with 16 per cent and Mr Morrison is on eight per cent.

Among Labor voters, Ms Bishop is almost as popular as Mr Turnbull, who gets 30 per cent support to her 28 per cent.

A Newspoll published two days ago showed Labor leading the coalition by 51 per cent to 49 per cent after preferences, the first time the opposition has been ahead since the leadership change.

But when asked about the matter, Mr Turnbull has refused to deviate from his chosen subjects of the economy and industrial relations.

"It's kind of you to invite me to engage in the commentary, but if you've lost interest in the Australian Building and Construction Commission and the economic trajectory of Australia, then we should move on. Because really, the commentary is a matter for you. And I encourage you to engage in it, but it's not a line of work that I'm any longer involved with."

Mr Turnbull cited 30 consecutive Newspoll losses as a reason for challenging Tony Abbott for the Prime Ministership last year.

Mr Abbott has also refused to comment on the poll.

But a Roy Morgan poll has the government increasing its lead over Labor.

 


News

Sign up now for the latest news from Australia and around the world direct to your inbox.

By subscribing, you agree to SBS’s terms of service and privacy policy including receiving email updates from SBS.

Follow SBS Chinese

Download our apps

Listen to our podcasts

Get the latest with our exclusive in-language podcasts on your favourite podcast apps.

Watch on SBS

Simplified Chinese Collection

Watch onDemand

Stream now