A new poll has failed to confirm the Coalition’s rebound in another survey, but has found a near majority of voters approve of the prime minister’s handling of the “threat of terrorism”.



The Essential poll, which averages its results over two weeks’ polling, found support for the Coalition unchanged at 47% of the two party preferred vote compared with 53% for Labor. This is the same result as the Newspoll on 23 February. A Fairfax Ipsos poll on Monday had Labor’s lead narrowing to just 51% to 49%, a result which eased the Coalition’s leadership tensions.



During the week leading up to the Fairfax poll, Tony Abbott had delivered a national security statement in response to the Lindt Cafe siege and the government had waged a concerted attack on the human rights commission president Gillian Triggs.



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According to the Essential poll, the prime minister’s stance on terrorism is winning voter approval and a majority of voters approve of restrictions to rights and freedoms in the interests of security.



It found that 46% approved of the way Abbott was handling the threat of terrorism in Australia and 33% disapproved. Some 75% thought the threat of terrorism happening in Australia had increased – up from 57% recorded in September. And 56% thought there should be more restrictions on rights and freedom for some people to improve the security of others – up 6% since September. It found 28% (down 6%) thought the current laws strike the right balance between freedom and security.



But the poll found many voters unaware of the controversy surrounding Triggs. Slightly more than a third (34%) approved of the performance of the HRC and 22% disapproved, but 44% had no opinion. Those most likely to approve were Greens voters (60%), Labor voters (46%) and the university-educated (40%).