Watch FIFA World Cup 2026™

LIVE, FREE and EXCLUSIVE

Turnbull lost poll but no immediate danger

Malcolm Turnbull has lost his 30th Newspoll in a row, but he's facing no immediate danger of his party dumping him like it did Tony Abbott.

Australian PM Malcolm Turnbull inspects a child's drawing in Sydney.
Malcolm Turnbull visited a child care centre on the day his government lost its 30th Newspoll. (AAP)

Malcolm Turnbull got his 30th consecutive Newspoll loss, but he's in no immediate danger of suffering the same fate as Tony Abbott.

He will get a chance to sell the May budget, and then has to survive two party room meetings in June before the long winter break.

If there is any sign of a leadership challenge in July, some Liberals believe the prime minister will call a snap election.

The earliest a half-Senate and full lower house election can be held is August 4.

But the dreaded 30th Newspoll did show a lift in the coalition's primary vote, and a tightening in the two-party preferred vote to 48-52.

News that makes sense

Your trusted source for staying up-to-date with the world around you. Get free daily news updates and analysis, straight to your inbox.

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

There's no point rushing to defeat if the coalition thinks it can close the gap with Labor, and push out the election to 2019.

Bill Shorten stood next to Anthony Albanese in Perth and pointed out Labor has been united for more than four years under his leadership.

"We've learned from our mistakes," the opposition leader told reporters on Monday.

Turnbull doesn't have that unity.

Abbott is promising to "agitate" for the policies he wants, gripping the pressure points.

Energy policy brought down Turnbull the first time, it helped bring down Gillard and Rudd, and Abbott is back on the same horse - again.

Who knows if Turnbull could be in a better position without the internal brawling Shorten has largely avoided?

But unless something changes he's set to match Abbott in another numerical benchmark - one election win, one election loss.


2 min read

Published

Source: AAP



Share this with family and friends


Get SBS News straight to your inbox

Sign up now for daily news from Australia and around the world. You can also subscribe to Insight's weekly newsletter for in-depth features and first-person stories.

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

Follow SBS News

Download our apps

Listen to our podcasts

Get the latest with our News podcasts on your favourite podcast apps.

Watch on SBS

SBS World News

Take a global view with Australia's most comprehensive world news service

Stream now

Watch the latest news videos from Australia and across the world