Result mirrors trend of other polls over the past weeks after previous Newspoll recorded an unexpected upturn for Malcolm Turnbull’s government

This article is more than 3 years old

This article is more than 3 years old

The Coalition’s support has slipped again in the latest Newspoll after debates on company tax cuts and racial hatred laws, with the government trailing Labor by 47% to 53% in two-party-preferred terms.

The Turnbull government’s primary vote in the poll, published in the Australian, fell from 37% to 36% over the past two weeks. Labor’s primary vote went up one point from 35% to 36%.

Last week’s Essential poll for Guardian Australia gave Labor a 54-46 lead, while an Ipsos poll for Fairfax Media published on 26 March had the Coalition in an even worse position on 55-45. But the previous Newspoll had given the Turnbull government a surprise boost, narrowing the two-party-preferred gap to 52-48.

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Malcolm Turnbull has lost ground to Bill Shorten as preferred prime minister in Monday’s poll to lead by only 41% to 32%, reversing some of the apparent gains he made in the previous poll after unveiling plans to expand the Snowy Mountains hydropower scheme.

This week’s Newspoll was taken from Thursday to Sunday, as the government attempted to pass changes to section 18C of the Racial Discrimination Act and legislate its company tax cuts before parliament rose for the last time before the budget.

One Nation retained its 10% of the vote share in the poll, matching the support for the Greens.

The government’s primary vote is six points lower than at last year’s federal election. It stood at 39% just before Turnbull took the leadership of the Liberal party from Tony Abbott and became prime minister in September 2015.

The number of voters satisfied with Turnbull’s performance remained at 30%, but those dissatisfied increased from 57% to 59% on the previous poll, leaving him with a net satisfaction rating of minus 29%. Shorten improved his rating from minus 28 to minus 22.

On Saturday Turnbull told the Victorian state council meeting of the Liberal party in Melbourne the Coalition must govern from the “sensible centre” and reject populist or reactionary politics, sparking speculation of a change in tone for his leadership.