Labor 'delusional' as poll shows coalition in the lead

Voters are favouring the coalition over federal Labor, a new poll shows, in a sign the government’s cost-of-living relief may not be enough.

The Freshwater Strategy poll published on Monday showed the coalition was ahead on 52 per cent against 48 per cent for Labor on a two-party preferred basis.

However, the online poll of 1057 voters taken between Friday and Saturday also showed Anthony Albanese was the preferred prime minister on 45 per cent, against 41 per cent for Opposition Leader Peter Dutton.

The two-party outcome is in line with other recent voter polls, which have either the coalition ahead or neck-and-neck with Labor.

Labor minister Clare O’Neil said the government was focused on cost of living and affordable housing ahead of the federal election, which must be held by the end of May.

She pointed to the government’s tax cuts, a $300 energy bill rebate to help households pay their power bills this year and cheaper medicines.

“All of these things are really important, and almost all of them were opposed by the coalition,” Ms O’Neil told Nine’s Today show.

“There’s one party in Canberra that is desperately focused on trying to ease the pressure on Australians and that’s Labor, and we’ll keep doing that right up until election day.”

But independent senator Jacqui Lambie said the government was “delusional” if it thought that would get them over the line for a second term.

“Labor’s a little delusional, to be honest,” she told Nine.

“We’re about to go into Christmas, they’re going to an election next year, you’re going to have all those Christmas credit card bills with whatever people can afford to buy.

“Then kids are going back to school and we still don’t know what’s going on with interest rates.”

Senator Lambie also challenged the value of the power bill rebates, saying that overall bills weren’t coming down.

“I don’t think people are getting the sugar hit out of this ... that Labor thinks that they are,” she said.

“I would ask them to come outside of their bubble, to get outside of their offices, and get out there with their boots on.

“They’re not quite getting this right and there is not near enough relief out there.”

The results suggest that the coalition could emerge from the federal election with a minority government.

Polls come and go, Liberal senator Hollie Hughes said, but a minority government would not be ideal.

“Minority government is something that’s real and something that could be very, very bad for our country,” she said.