Newspoll: Coalition slumps to worst-ever primary vote in days after Jacinta Price dumped from frontbench
Opposition Leader Sussan Ley has capped off a miserable week — which included dumping Jacinta Price from the frontbench — by recording the Coalition’s worst primary vote in Newspoll history.
The polling, conducted by The Australian between Monday and Thursday last week, showed the Coalition’s primary vote slumping to 27 per cent — the worst result since Newspoll began in 1985.
The result means Labor is sitting at 58 per cent of the two-party preferred vote.
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By continuing you agree to our Terms and Privacy Policy.Ms Ley’s net approval rating has also crashed to minus-17, with as many as 49 per cent of respondents saying they were dissatisfied with her performance.
Labor’s primary vote remained stable at 36 per cent.
Pauline Hanson’s One Nation appears to have taken advantage of the Coalition’s electoral woes, with its primary vote rising to 10 per cent — up from 6.4 per cent in the Federal election back in May.
The Greens have claimed 13 per cent of the primary vote among respondents, while others, which includes minor parties and independents, jumped to 14 per cent.
The polling comes off the back of a tumultuous week for the Coalition, with Ms Ley removing Ms Price from the opposition frontbench after the outspoken senator refused to publicly back her leader.
Ms Price had faced calls to apologise for comments she made in a September 3 interview in which she claimed the Albanese Government had allowed a high number of Indian people to migrate to Australia because they were “more Labor leaning”.
Ms Ley demanded Ms Price apologise for the comments and publicly support her leadership of the opposition.
“Despite being given sufficient time and space to do so, Senator Nampijinpa Price failed to apologise for remarks which have caused Australians of Indian heritage significant hurt,” Ms Ley said on Wednesday.
“She also refused to provide confidence in my leadership of the Liberal Party and sadly, that has made her position untenable in my shadow ministry.”
The conflict highlighted simmering tensions within a divided Liberal Party, with Ms Ley’s supporters calling for Senator Price to apologise while those who endorsed Angus Taylor’s leadership bid after the Federal election largely backing the senator.
