cc The loss of personal support is the most dramatic for a prime minister in a decade. It marks the first time Mr Rudd, as either opposition leader or prime minister, has had a disapproval rating higher than his approval rating. The proposed 40 per cent tax on the mining sector's so-called super profits, revealed as the key response to the Henry tax review, failed to prove a vote winner, with 47 per cent opposing the impost, 44 per cent supporting it and 9 per cent undecided. The only comfort for Labor is that none of the unpopularity has translated into a direct increase in support for the Coalition. Mr Rudd is regarded as only slightly more trustworthy than his opponent but he also rates higher for untrustworthiness. He is still the preferred prime minister, although that gap has closed by 10 points in a month.

The poll of 1400 voters was taken from Thursday night to Saturday night and follows a horror month for the government in which it scrapped the home insulation scheme, binned plans to build 260 childcare centres and endured another interest rate rise. Most damaging of all, it shelved until at least 2013 any attempt to implement an emissions trading scheme. On a two-party-preferred basis, Labor and the Coalition are even at 50 per cent, compared with 51-49 a month ago. This represents a 2.7-point two-party swing against Labor since the election. If the swing were uniform and an election were held now, Labor would lose 19 seats - and government. Since the previous poll, Labor's primary vote fell 2 points to 37 per cent, the Coalition was steady at 42 per cent and the Greens improved 1 point to 13 per cent. The approval and disapproval ratings of the Opposition Leader, Tony Abbott, were steady at 46 per cent and 45 per cent, respectively. Mr Rudd leads as preferred prime minister on 53 per cent - down 6 points in a month - to Mr Abbott on 38 per cent (4 points up).

The poll finds 58 per cent of voters still support an ETS. Only 30 per cent oppose it. Mr Rudd once called climate change ''the greatest moral, economic and environmental challenge of our generation'' and his decision to shelve the policy polarised the electorate - 43 per cent supported the delay, 45 per cent opposed it and 13 per cent were undecided. As Mr Abbott launched the Liberals' first election TV commercials yesterday, the poll finds he and Mr Rudd enjoy about the same levels of trust. Mr Rudd is regarded as trustworthy by 43 per cent of voters and untrustworthy by 38 per cent. Mr Abbott is regarded as trustworthy by 40 per cent and untrustworthy by 34. Loading The poll confirms a trend it detected just over a month ago when Labor toughened laws against asylum seekers. It matches the findings of Newspoll, taken last weekend, which tapped into the discontent, and will do little to dampen talk about the Deputy Prime Minister, Julia Gillard, being readied to take over as leader in case Mr Rudd implodes.

A senior minister said yesterday that events would have to worsen dramatically for anyone to contemplate seriously a leadership change before the election.