Coalition edges out Labor amid Voice fallout
The Coalition has pulled ahead of Labor in the first public opinion poll published since the Voice to parliament defeat, with primary support for the Albanese government dropping to 32 per cent.
Tuesday’s Roy Morgan poll showed the Coalition leading Labor on a two-party preferred basis for the first time since the 2022 election, at 50.5 per cent (compared with 49.5 per cent for Labor), up 4.5 per cent.
Anthony Albanese is dealing with the fallout of the October 14 referendum defeat. Alex Ellinghausen
Primary support for Labor was down 3 per cent to 32 per cent, while support for the Coalition increased 2 per cent to 36 per cent.
The poll of 1383 voters around the country was taken between October 16 and October 22, just days after the referendum on Indigenous constitutional recognition was defeated, with every state voting No.
Nearly a third of respondents said they would vote for a minor party or an independent candidate, including the Greens on 14 per cent, One Nation on 4.5 per cent and independents on 8.5 per cent.
A majority of voters, 53.5 per cent, said the country was heading in the wrong direction in the wake of the referendum, while 31.5 per cent said Australia was on the right track.
The latest True Issues survey published on Tuesday showed the Voice barely registered as an issue with voters during the final days of the campaign, but concern over the cost of living had escalated to record levels.
It revealed that while eight in 10 voters wanted the government focused on the cost of living, just one in 10 felt the same about the Voice.
At the same time, the JWS Research survey showed the government’s overall performance rating slip to an index of 48, the first time it has been below 50 since Labor’s 2022 victory.
Counting of postal votes is continuing after the October 14 referendum, with 61 per cent of Australians voting No.
Labor is recalibrating after shock at the scale of the loss, promising to consult further with Indigenous leaders about the next steps on reconciliation and efforts to close the disadvantage gap.
The earliest possible date for the next federal election is August 3, 2024, if it is a standard House of Representatives and half-Senate election. The latest date for the poll is May 17, 2025.
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