Malcolm Turnbull is now just one bad opinion poll away from the 30-loss streak he used to justify replacing Tony Abbott as Liberal leader, with today's Newspoll revealing the Coalition trails Labor 47-53 on a two-party preferred basis.
The poll, published today in the Australian, is the 29th straight loss for the Coalition under Mr Turnbull's leadership.
The prime minister laughed off questions about the poll at the Australian Federal Police headquarters in Canberra on Monday morning.
A reporter said: "Prime minister, 29 Newspolls is not good news."
Mr Turnbull replied: "Why are you smiling then if it is not good news? You are so pleased."
"I know why! Because you are so happy about all of the jobs we have created. Because you are not distracted by polls. You know that we have created 420,700 jobs in Australia in the last year."
Earlier this month prime minister Tony Abbott said Mr Turnbull would have to explain why he should remain leader if he reaches the symbolic milestone.
"It was the prime minister who set this test, and I guess if he fails the test it will be the prime minister who has to explain why the test was right for one and not right for the other," Mr Abbott told 2GB Radio at the time.
Back in 2015, Mr Turnbull said the run of poll losses proved Mr Abbott was on a downward trajectory.
“We have lost 30 Newspolls in a row," he said on the day he announced his leadership challenge. "It is clear that the people have made up their mind about Mr Abbott’s leadership."
The latest Newspoll of 1597 voters also shows Labor's primary vote climbing to 39 per cent against the Coalition's unchanged 37 per cent.
Labor's first preference vote has not been as high since Mr Turnbull ousted Mr Abbott in September 2015, the newspaper reported.
The poll also lifted Opposition Leader Bill Shorten's satisfaction rating to 34 per cent, two points ahead Mr Turnbull's 32 per cent.
But the prime minister was still the county's preferred leader, leading Mr Shorten 39-36.
The Greens' and One Nation's primary votes remained unchanged at nine per cent and seven per cent, respectively.
- with AAP
