Budget boosts Turnbull ratings: Newspoll

The latest Newspoll has seen Malcolm Turnbull strengthen his position as Australia’s preferred prime minister in his equal best result since the 2016 election.

An eight-point jump in his approval rating has taken the Liberal leader to 46 per cent while Opposition Leader Bill Shorten has slipped three points to 32 per cent.

The poll, published by The Australian on Sunday night, follows income tax cut promises in last week’s federal budget and a citizenship crisis that forced four Labor MPs to resign from parliament.

But the coalition is still trailing Labor 49-51 on a two-party preferred basis for the second consecutive poll.

That margin is the coalition’s best position since September 2016 as both major parties gear up for a string of by-elections to be held across the country as soon as July.

However, a Fairfax/Ipsos poll shows the government losing ground over the income tax cuts, with Labor’s primary vote rising to 37 per cent from 34. There was no change in the coalition’s primary vote at 36 per cent.

According to the Ipsos poll, 38 per cent of voters approve of the federal budget and tax cuts but the majority of them (57 per cent) want the money to be used to pay down debt.

The gap between the government and Labor has widened as well with the coalition trailing 46 to 54 per cent, from 48 to 52 per cent, in two-party terms, according to the survey.

The Fairfax/Ipsos poll also has Mr Turnbull in the lead as preferred prime minister at 52 per cent to 32 for Mr Shorten.