'My job is not to win a popularity contest': Tony Abbott shrugs off disastrous poll results as state premiers promise to inflict more political pain over budget cuts



Prime Minister's support from voters has plunged, new polls show



His negative rating has hit minus 28 per cent - as bad Julia Gillard

PM says bad poll results were 'to be expected' following his tough budget



He won't rethink his budget despite backlash from states and territories







Tony Abbott has shrugged off disastrous new post-budget poll results for his government, after it was revealed he is now as unpopular as Julia Gillard ever was.



The Prime Minister has also said he won't be rethinking his budget despite the states and territories promising to inflict political pain on his government over $80 billion in budget cuts.

Premiers and chief ministers are demanding an emergency meeting with the prime minister before the end of July, saying cuts to health and education funding will have an immediate impact on services.

Prime Minister Tony Abbott on Monday said he won't be rethinking his budget despite the states and territories promising to inflict political pain on his government Both Newspoll and Fairfax-Nielsen show a big drop in support for the coalition after last week's unpopular budget.

Nielsen shows Mr Abbott's negative rating has hit minus 28 per cent, which is as low as any number former Prime Minister Ms Gillard recorded at her most unpopular.



Newspoll shows the coalition's primary vote dipped two percentage points to 36 per cent, compared to Labor's 38 per cent.

But the prime minister shrugged off results showing his personal standing with voters has plunged.

'I'm just getting on with what we were elected to do,' he told ABC radio on Monday.

'In the end, my job is not necessarily to win a popularity contest, my job is to run the country effectively.'

Mr Abbott's negative rating has hit minus 28 per cent, which is as low as any number recorded by former Prime Minister Julia Gillard (pictured in September 2013)

On a two-party preferred basis Newspoll gives the ALP a 10-point lead - 55 to 45 per cent - and has Labor leader Bill Shorten leading Mr Abbott as preferred prime minister by 10 points.

Mr Abbott says the results were to be expected.

'We never said it was going to be be easy,' he said.

'The last government which brought down a very tough budget - the Howard government in 1996 - took a big hit in the polls too.

'But in the end we were elected not to take easy decisions but to take hard and necessary decisions, and that's what we've done.'

On Monday Mr Abbott also rebuffed the demand for an emergency meeting with premiers and chief ministers, saying he speaks regularly to state and territory leaders.

He says the cuts to health and education funding won't come for three years so the Commonwealth and states have time to develop a new funding model.

Mr Abbott says he has delivered a budget in line with Australians' expectations, despite 75% of people polled by Galaxy claiming they will be worse off

'There's plenty of time to come to grips with this and the best possible ways to deal with it,' he told ABC radio.

'Let's talk all of this through and come up with a system that come 2017-18 ... we have schools and hospitals which are well funded, which are better run, and let's have a federation that works better as well.'

But at a meeting in Sydney on Sunday state and territory leaders rejected the cuts as 'completely unacceptable' and said hundreds of hospital beds would have to be closed across the country.

South Australian Premier Jay Weatherill promised the states and territories will cause the 'maximum amount of political pain' for the Abbott government unless it reverses the cuts.

The Labor party are not the only one opposing the new cuts and payments. The Greens and the Palmer United Party are also opposed to the measures

'We can explain to people the depth of these $80 billion cuts, the effect that they're going to have on people getting quality health care or get a quality education for your children,' he told ABC radio.

NSW Premier Mike Baird predicted NSW would lose $2 billion over the next four years.

Victoria's Denis Napthine dismissed suggestions the cuts would have no impact until 2017.

'Our advice is that's simply not accurate and we need to sit down and sort that out,' he told ABC radio.

Tony Abbott says everyone needs to help pay down the nation's $667 billion debt

The Abbott government is facing a voter backlash over Tuesday's budget, which hiked the fuel excise, cut welfare, health and education spending, and introduced a new GP co-payment and deficit tax on the wealthy.

Mr Abbott spent Sunday again defending the budget, which includes a Medicare co-payment, pension cuts and a fuel excise rise.

In one interview the Prime Minister admitted his first budget included 'increased taxes' and in another he pointed to selective listening for confusion about election promises.



'Well, I know that people hear different things,' Mr Abbott told ABC's Insiders TV program.