Kevin Rudd isn’t the only one having trouble communicating his messages. This is shaping as an electoral clash of two of the least-popular leaders in recent political history, today’s Essential Report shows. Kevin Rudd and Tony Abbott have suffered big falls in public approval over the past month.
The government and opposition remain locked in today’s poll, with only a 1% drop in Labor’s primary vote changing the 2PP outcome to 51-49% from last week’s 52-48%. The coalition parties’ vote remained steady.
But while Labor’s previous polling free fall may have ended, Rudd’s fall in voters’ estimation has yet to bottom out. Compared to the beginning of May, the Prime Minister’s total approval rating has fallen 5% to 41%, and his disapproval rating has increased 5% to 47%. For the first time, Rudd has a net disapproval rating of 6%.
Labor’s only consolation is that Abbott has suffered an even bigger blow-out in voter disapproval. In the same period, which coincided with Abbott’s brain snaps on talkback radio and the 7.30 Report, his approval rating has fallen 4% to 35% and disapproval went up 7% to 50%. This undoes Abbott’s recovery from his disastrous health debate performance, which trashed his approval numbers in March after a strong start to the year.
Essential last week also asked voters in detail about industrial relations issues, and the results must be deeply worrying for the coalition.
Asked if they believed Abbott would try to restore Workchoices if he won government, a whopping 58% believed he would (including 28% who thought it “very likely”), against only 21% he thought he wouldn’t. And while Labor and Green voters strongly believed it, more than 40% of Liberal voters also thought that Abbott would do what he has repeatedly ruled out. 45% of voters polled said they would be “very” or “quite” concerned about the return of Workchoices — and particularly concerned about the removal of unfair dismissal rights, which worried even 24% of Liberal voters.
The poll also suggests that Abbott’s attempt to paint his IR position as working within the government’s post-Workchoices framework isn’t working. Only 24% accept Abbott’s position, but 43% prefer the position — characterised in the question as that of trade unions — that his changes would be a return to Workchoices.
Nearly half of voters — 46% — said that the coalition’s IR position would make them less likely to vote for them. Only 14% said more.
In what is shaping up as a close election, the Liberals’ simple inability to learn the lesson of Workchoices could yet be fatal.
So the choice is obvious – which black hole do we vote for?
That other green one, floating around like Tinkerbell, aside?
There is a winner in all this – with his own help, that coal-ition “policy” of Captain Crook’s, to tarnish “Peter Pan”, has worked.
We’re just left marooned in Never Never Land.
Sad but true.
What did Australia do to deserve these two?
What are the dozens of political minders up to? Surely, a few notes for Tony Abbott to read would lift his contribution to public debate. The PM appears to have overworked himself to the point where he now sees everything as being hugely important. His minders have a job to do here, focussing him on the important matters and providing moderation, both of which he appears to have lost entirely in his panic.
Most of all, what are the front benchers on both sides of parliament doing with their time? Their leaders need help and are getting/accepting little. “Standing idly by” is apparently part of the job descriptions of many front benchers while their leaders trash the brand.
Well excuse me Mr Bennetts but I for one find Tony Abbott a breath of fresh air.
An honest, intelligent, brave & principled man who will make a great Prime Minister.
And I suspect that after 12 years in office, you too will learn to love him.
I have to admit to being very disappointed in the women members of the govt. How they could remain silent while Rudd proceeded with allowing;
the ABCC to continue
the appalling treatment of asylum seekers – Rudd should’ve made An Address to the Nation and got on the ‘front foot’ re the decent, humane and LEGALLY binding committments of his govt and the HOWARD LEGISLATION – that now Abbott is going to rescind?
child care centres – over 200 won’t be built now – where’s the evidence to support that they’re ‘not needed now’?
the horrific attitude to those fleeing Afghanistan and Sri Lanka
Workchoices ‘Lite’ – better than Howard’s but not good enough!
CLIMATE CHANGE – should’ve negotiated a better policy with The Greens, or taken them up on the interim policy that Christine Milne stated on their behalf?
It’s a bit ingenuous to be so hard on Rudd re the CPRS as they couldn’t win with the media – big business, big money, big right wing media = bad ‘news’ for Rudd govt! He was damned either way – then public support waned, and those same people blame him? What? People who whine want him to do something, but not if it costs them – anything! Selfish people!
@MICHAEL – Oh Michael, don’t be so silly! Abbott, by his own mouth is not honest – only when he writes something down, and then?????Remember the debacle over Medicare prior to the 2004 Election – it was ‘set in concrete’ or words to that effect? His utterings over ‘big new taxes’ when Costello introduced 37 new taxes in his first term, and ‘adjusted’ existing ones! It took him 13 months to finally answer the question, but finally????(Sun Herald – Nov 26 -2000)
Who challenged Abbott when he said that the public service increased by 20,000? Where are these people? In Parliament House in Canberra? Where do they live? I haven’t heard that there’s been a real boost to housing even half that number + families in Canberra? Are they living in caravan parks? Where? In old parliament house!
While Rudd’s following in the polls is bad, Abbott’s is worse. He hasn’t been able to take advantage, as people don’t trust him and they don’t want WorstChoices back, at all! He’s a political player; just says what he thinks for the day – his so-called intelligence hasn’t done much good; you’d think that someone who’s lauded as being well educated would have the ‘stuff’ in his head to think through what he says or does. It’s like his brain has several holes in it, and a collection of marbles – when he wakes up, he rolls his head around, whatever hole the marble falls in – that’s the ‘message’ of the day? Oh, apart from saying at least 10 times – ‘great big new tax’ ?I remember Abbott re the first WorstChoices; Burnie Banton; his whining how ‘poor’ he was as an Opposition member; his attitude to women and their right to make their own choices re fertility – the list goes on! I don’t recall one coherent utterance that he didn’t ‘tweak’ after several days – except something really diabolical, like returning to locking up asylum seekers and their kids, until they’re driven medically mad! Or trying to remove RU486 etc
Michael, you repeat the same old same old. You never show any research or sources or ?? You just mouth off! 12 yrs of Abbott? There’d be no country left!
I don’t like people who make much of family values, god blah blah, and yet introduce(or assert intent to) some of the most unjust, inhuman and horrific policies that damage peoples’ lives and cause misery to their families and communities! The arrogance and cruelty is breathtaking!