Labor remains defiant despite slumping to 13-year polling low

The Albanese government insists it is not concerned by its polling numbers despite hitting its lowest primary vote since the dying days of Julia Gillard’s reign.

The latest Newspoll shows Labor’s primary vote falling to 29 per cent, with Prime Minister Anthony Albanese’s net satisfaction rating falling to -22 per cent, below Opposition Leader Angus Taylor, who sits at -12 per cent.

The Coalition’s primary vote is still languishing, however, being stuck at just 18 per cent, with One Nation level with Labor on 29 per cent.

Labor’s primary vote has not been this low since June 2013, days before Gillard was ousted as prime minister by Kevin Rudd. Labor would go on to lose the 2013 election under Rudd in a landslide.

The latest Newspoll survey was conducted between Monday and Friday last week, with 1242 voters canvassed.

However, Albanese remained preferred prime minister ahead of Taylor and One Nation’s Pauline Hanson, with Albanese preferred over the pair at 46 per cent, with Hanson at 31 per cent and Taylor at 23 per cent.

Read more

Police confirm ‘lifelike’ doll stuffed in suitcase had nose piercing, ‘bruises and grazes’

The poll also found 55 per cent of respondents believed Albanese would make a better prime minister than Hanson when the choice was between the two of them.

Despite the numbers, coming off the back of a difficult week for the government amid confusion over its migration policy, Health Minister Mark Butler insisted the government was not fazed by the polling.

“As politicians, we don’t look at them much. They’re coming up on a weekly basis, and they will for the long 18 months until the next election,” Butler said on Today.

“We’re focused on doing the job that we have,” he added, insisting the government was looking towards the next session of parliament, where the government is trying to pass several pieces of legislation.

This includes a bill to finalise Australia’s net migration numbers, which Butler also defended, claiming his government was seeking to be “smarter” than other governments have been in the past.

Read more

Collapsed activewear brand Stax rescued at 11th hour

“The net migration numbers are down by almost a half, we’ve been much smarter than years before in deciding who comes in,” he said.

“[We’ve] granted more than triple the number of construction visas so there’s more tradies working on housing projects we need to build. 

“We’re looking at what else we can do to get those numbers down and be smarter about the balance that Australia needs.”

Minister for Immigration and Home Affairs Tony Burke was set to make a speech unveiling the government’s migration policy last week at the National Press Club, but it was postponed at the last moment amid reports of fierce internal debate still raging over the finer details.

The government will also seek to pass laws on gambling reform and the News Bargaining Incentive, which would encourage large social media platforms to strike deals with Australian media companies for use of their content or be forced to pay a fee.