Labor's lead over Coalition narrows in latest poll

Labor's lead over the Coalition has narrowed in the two-party preferred vote, the latest Newspoll shows, while leader Bill Shorten's approval rating has fallen sharply.

Based on preference flows from the last election, Labor is ahead by 51 percent to 49 percent, down from 53 percent to 47 percent a month ago, according to the poll published in the Australian today.

Labor's primary vote dropped by three points to 34 percent, the lowest since October, while the Coalition fell one point to 40 percent.

The poll of 1086 people at the weekend also saw Mr Shorten's net satisfaction rating drop from minus 18 points two weeks ago to minus 26 points, his worst ever result.

That compared to a drop in net satisfaction with Prime Minister Tony Abbott from minus 15 points to minus 22 points over the same period.

Asked who would make the better prime minister, support for Mr Abbott was unchanged at 41 percent while Mr Shorten gained a point to reach 38 percent.

A Fairfax-Ipsos poll published yesterday found the Labor leader ahead of Mr Abbott as preferred prime minister by one point at 42 percent.