Labor’s new position on the Adani coalmine, to oppose the controversial project but not revoke its licence, has underwhelmed voters, according to the latest Guardian Essential poll.

In the latest fortnightly survey of 1,025 respondents, voters were asked whether they supported the Turnbull government’s pro-Adani position, Labor’s new position, or the Greens position, which is to oppose the project and attempt to stop it from proceeding.

The options divided the field but the highest level of support was recorded for the Greens’ anti-Adani position (30% support), followed by the Liberal government’s position of supporting Adani (26%) with only 19% backing the hedged position articulated by Bill Shorten.

By voting groups, the Greens’ stance had the highest support among the party’s own constituency (69%), with 50% of Liberal voters supporting the government’s position and 38% of Labor voters supporting the Labor position. A similar percentage of Labor voters (31%) supported the Greens position, while 15% supported the government’s pro-Adani position.

A quarter of the sample could not articulate a position on the mine.

Adani has dominated the headlines in recent weeks because of the Batman byelection this coming weekend, with Labor facing off against the Greens in a progressive-on-progressive contest in the northern suburbs of Melbourne.

After floating a hardline stance with environment groups over the Christmas break, the Labor leader then encountered internal resistance. Shorten has attempted subsequently to toughen the party’s stance against the Adani project while arguing that a future Labor government would not rip up contracts.

In the period since the last Guardian Essential poll, the Turnbull government has battled headline-grabbing controversy sparked by the messy private travails of the former Nationals leader Barnaby Joyce, and concern the Trump administration would impose tariffs on Australian steel and aluminium.

While the government hopes it is now past the worst of the Joyce fallout, and won a weekend reprieve on the Trump tariffs, Labor remains comfortably ahead of the Turnbull government in the latest survey.

Labor leads 54% on the two-party preferred measure to the Coalition’s 46%.

While there is focus in Canberra on the prime minister closing in on his 30th negative Newspoll – a metric Turnbull used in part as justification for removing Tony Abbott from the Liberal party leadership in 2015 – his run in the Guardian Essential poll is worse.

The Turnbull government has not led Labor on the two-party preferred measure since 1 July 2016 and has now lost 76 polls in a row.

On Monday Turnbull was asked about the yardstick he had laid down, and told ABC’s 7.30 the Liberal party room determined the leader, not the Newspoll.

He said when challenging Abbott he identified “a number” of reasons, including the need for economic leadership and a return to traditional cabinet government.

“I have delivered both,” Turnbull said. “I think I think the strongest jobs growth in our nation’s history probably passes the test.”

While the government’s poor reception appears to be a hard-baked trend, Turnbull’s approval ratings do not seem to have suffered as a consequence of recent controversies, with 41% of the sample approving of the job he is doing as prime minister (up 2% from last month), while 43% disapproved (up 1%) – a change in the prime minister’s net approval rating of -3 to -2.

Shorten’s approval ratings have, however, improved since last month, with 37% approving of the job he is doing as opposition leader (up 4% from last month), with 44% disapproving (down 2%) - which is a change in the Labor leader’s net approval rating of -13 to -7.

Turnbull remains comfortably ahead of Shorten as preferred prime minister, with 41% backing him compared with Shorten’s 26%. Turnbull is down 1% and Shorten up 1%, with 33% unable to say who would make a better prime minister.

The poll’s margin of error is plus or minus 3%.

Voters were also asked their views on policy questions, including company tax cuts, regulating energy prices, whether there should be a new Accord-style partnership between business, trade unions and the government, and whether the Newstart allowance should be increased.

Regulating energy prices was popular (83% support), as was an Accord-style partnership (66%). Boosting Newstart also had majority support (52%) while the field was divided on company tax cuts (42% support/39% oppose).

Asked who would benefit most from the nominated measures, a majority said big business would benefit from corporate tax cuts but only 21% thought workers would.

More than half thought low-income earners would benefit from a boost to Newstart. Low-income earners were also perceived to be the beneficiaries of regulated energy prices, alongside small business and workers.

The benefits of a partnership between business, unions and government were spread between big business (28%), small business (29%) and workers (30%).

Asked which actions would be most beneficial to the economy, energy price regulation rated highest, followed by the Accord-style partnership, with only 27% believing a company tax cut would be a boost.

Voters were also asked whether they supported marriage equality in the wake of last year’s historic legalisation of same-sex marriage.

Public support has gone up marginally since the support recorded during last year’s national plebiscite, with 65% backing marriage equality, and 26% opposing it. Women are more likely to support it than men and younger people more likely (76%) to back an end to discrimination than the over 65’s (52%).