The Morrison government has improved its position in the polls but Labor would still win an election on a convincing margin if it were held today, leading the government 54 – 46 in the latest Newspoll.
The narrowing in the two-party preferred reflects a rise in the primary vote for the Coalition from 33 percent in the days after the leadership spill to 36 percent now.
Labor’s primary vote has eased off slightly from 42 percent two weeks ago to 39 percent.
The News Corp poll surveyed 1,675 voters around the country.
Prime minister Scott Morrison joked that the result reflected the popularity of his wife Jen's pavlovas. Mr Morrison had encouraged Australians to make the popular dessert and top it with strawberries, to help farmers impacted by the recent needle-tampering incident.
"Bill Shorten thinks he's already there, he's strutting around like if he's in the job. I have no such arrogance and complacency," Mr Morrison told reporters at the construction site for the long-promised Western Sydney airport.
It is the first poll to suggest the Coalition may have seen the worst of the electoral blowback from its recent leadership turmoil, with the dumping of Malcolm Turnbull and former treasurer Scott Morrison emerging as the new leader.
Scott Morrison remains the preferred prime minister over Bill Shorten in the latest Newspoll. Source: AAP
The poll comes as one of the other leadership contenders, former foreign minister Julie Bishop, has described the impact of the revolving-door leadership on Australia’s international reputation.
Ms Bishop told the Nine Network foreign dignitaries were joking Australia was the “coup capital of the world” and the “Italy of the South Pacific”.
Ms Bishop has resigned her powerful post as foreign minister and is now sitting on the backbench.
Scott Morrison has rushed to make his own mark on the leadership, with a key by-election looming in the seat of Wentworth and a full federal election due within the next nine months.
Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison. Source: AAP
Crossbench senator Derryn Hinch said Mr Morrison was doing "really well" in his first month as prime minister but predicted the Liberal candidate in the upcoming Wentworth by-election was "in trouble".
He has announced a Royal Commission into the aged care sector, split the energy and environment portfolios, ruled out legislating climate targets, flagged changes to discrimination law to ‘protect’ religious freedoms and legislated tougher food-contamination sentences in the wake of the strawberry crisis.
The Coalition is still facing questions about its treatment of women after a series of female MPs quit, citing allegations of bulling.
Linda Reynolds, assistant Home Affairs minister, said the complaints were being handled internally. Anne Sudmalis and Julia Banks have signalled their intention to quit at the next election – potentially reducing the government’s female representation even further.
Less than a quarter of Coalition MPs are women, while for Labor it is almost half.
