Malcolm Turnbull's approval rating drops to new low, still preferred PM over Bill Shorten
Malcolm Turnbull's approval rating as prime minister has fallen into negative territory for the first time, but he is still maintaining a commanding lead and voters expect him to win this year's election.
The latest Newspoll reveals Mr Turnbull's net satisfaction has dropped five points but he is still the preferred prime minister to manage the country's economy and deemed more capable of handling tax reform than his counterpart.
Malcolm Turnbull's approval rating for PM has fallen into negative territory for the first time, but he is still expected to win this year’s election. Photo: AAP
The results show Mr Turnbull still has 54 per cent of voters believing in his ability to manage the country's economy, a drop of four points in four weeks.
But Mr Shorten has not gained anything from the PM's loss after the Labor leader fell two points to 20 per cent.
Adding to Mr Shorten's woes, 45 per cent believe the Mr Turnbull is the more capable of handling tax reform rather than the Labor leader, who sits at 25 percent.
The Coalition has nudged ahead in two-party-preferred terms to lead Labor by 51 per cent to 49 per cent.
Mr Turnbull still has 54 per cent of voters believing in his ability to manage the country's economy. Photo: AAP
Although Mr Turnbull has dropped points, Opposition Leader Bill Shorten still isn’t polling as Australia's preferred PM. Photo: AAP
The past two Newspolls revealed the parties deadlocked at 50-50.
The latest poll shows 55 per cent of voters think the Coalition will win the election while only 25 per cent believe Labor can do so.
The poll of 2049 voters shows satisfaction with Mr Turnbull's performance has fallen to 39 per cent, well down on the 60 per cent rating he got in mid-November.
Dissatisfaction with Mr Turnbull has risen three points to 44 per cent, leaving his net satisfaction rating at minus five points.
The Coalition's primary vote was unchanged for the third consecutive Newspoll, at 43 per cent while Labor eased back one point to 34 per cent and the Greens stayed on 12 per cent.
Turnbull faces tight timetable for vote
Out of 2049 voters, 39 per cent are satisfied with Mr Turnbull's performance a massive drop from a 60 per cent rating he got in November. Photo: AAP
For all the talk of a double dissolution election, a number of issues still need to fall into place for it to happen on July 2.
The PM would have to call the election on May 11, the day after the budget is due.
He also wants legislation for the reintroduction of the Australian Building and Construction Commission to be the main double dissolution election trigger as it would likely fail to pass the Senate for a second time.
But Labor senator Sam Dastyari for one does not see how it would be possible to accommodate these two issues given the Senate is not due back until May 10.
However, he confirmed on Sunday Labor would not stand in the way of the budget's money bills which would need to pass to keep the business of government working because a July 2 election would eat into the next financial year.
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