Federal Labor's primary vote has recovered from a record low but the latest Newspoll shows the coalition leading or equalling the government on key issues for the first time.
A Newspoll published in The Australian newspaper on Tuesday shows the ALP's primary vote rising by three percentage points to 29 per cent in October.
A month earlier, Labor's primary vote hit a record low of 26 per cent.
The news, however, is still bad for the government with the coalition leading Labor 57 to 43 on a two-party preferred basis.
The telephone poll of 1146 voters also showed the coalition leading or equalling Labor on all key electoral issues for the first time as the government's contentious carbon tax and migration amendment bills go before parliament this week.
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Just 17 per cent of respondents rated Labor as the best party to handle asylum seekers arriving in Australia, compared with 44 per cent for the coalition.
Julia Gillard faces being the first prime minister in 83 years to lose a House of Representatives vote, with the opposition and the Greens indicating they will sink the Malaysia solution.
The coalition has overtaken Labor as the best party to deal with climate change, with 31 per cent of respondents backing the opposition's approach compared with 28 per cent for the government on the eve of carbon tax legislation reaching parliament.
Labor's lead on industrial relations, the party's traditional strong point, has also been seriously eroded with just 39 per cent of people surveyed backing the government, down from 53 per cent in July 2010.
The coalition has a dramatic lead over Labor of 47 to 28 on the economy, even though political commentators regard this issue as an asset for the government.
