‘‘It’s a very cheap performance and if you paid five bucks to get into Wirth’s Circus and that’s all you got from the hypnotist you’d ask for your money back. ‘‘The endless repetition of these slogans is like an attempt by a trainee hypnotist to work wonders on a cobra in basket.’’ Mr Carr was responding to the latest Newspoll, which showed the hangover from the Labor leadership brawl manifesting in a four-point collapse in the party’s primary vote. But Prime Minister Julia Gillard received a boost in the survey, overtaking the Opposition Leader in the preferred prime minister stakes, with support of 39 per cent compared with Mr Abbott’s 37 per cent. The poll shows while Labor’s primary vote slipped from 35 per cent — recorded just before the leadership ballot between Ms Gillard and Kevin Rudd — to 31 per cent, the Coalition’s primary vote also fell over the same two-week period, sliding from 45 per cent to 43 per cent.

New Assistant Treasurer David Bradbury backed Mr Carr’s comments, saying that the Coalition was the clear loser from the poll results, given their primary vote fell despite the ‘‘tumultuous last couple of weeks’’ to befall Labor. ‘‘If I was a Liberal backbencher, I’d be scratching my head wondering how after the events of the last two weeks the Liberal party primary vote could go down,’’ Mr Bradbury said. ‘‘I would be equally scratching my head how Mr Abbott’s position as preferred prime minister could go backwards.’’ However, the two-party preferred basis numbers did not move — 53 per cent for the Coalition to Labor’s 47 per cent — which means the opposition still holds a comfortable election-winning lead over Labor. The drop in its primary vote takes Labor to its equal worst performance in the poll this year and is the first survey since Ms Gillard saw off Mr Rudd in the ballot by 71 votes to 31.

Support for the Greens climbed one point to 12 per cent while the category of others attracted a 14 per cent primary vote, its highest level since 2006. The Coalition’s primary of 43 per cent also represents its worst showing this year, down from highs of 46 per cent in February and 48 per cent in November. Voter satisfaction with Ms Gillard’s performance climbed two points from 26 per cent to 28 per cent, while her dissatisfaction rating fell by two points to 62 per cent. Ten per cent of respondents were uncommitted. Thirty-two per cent of respondents were satisfied with Mr Abbott’s performance — a rise of one point — and his dissatisfaction rose by the same margin to 58 per cent. The poll results come as Parliament resumes today for the first day of a two-week sitting period with the mining tax is expected to take centre stage from Wednesday when a Senate committee is due to report on the legislation.

The government hopes to push the bill through the Senate this fortnight — the last sitting session before the federal budget — but has met with resistance from the Greens, who say they will not be rushed into voting for the mining tax legislation. Greens leader Bob Brown said yesterday he held reservations over the legislation, in particular that the promised cut to the company tax rate for small businesses was not included in the bill. The mining tax, which is planned to raise about $10.5 billion in its first two years, will fund a range of measures, including an infrastructure fund, higher superannuation contributions, and tax writeoffs for small business. The company tax break is expected to be announced as a special measure in the May budget. Despite his demand for the government to legislate immediately for the tax cut, Senator Brown conceded the mining tax would begin on July 1. ‘‘There is a certain degree of the government taking the Greens and the Parliament for granted there,’’ he said. ‘‘[But] . . . if we vote against it, we end up with nothing.

‘‘Our position is that ultimately we are going to have to pass the mining tax because Tony Abbott’s Coalition is opposed to it,’’ he said. Mr Carr will be formally sworn in as a senator in Parliament this morning and will then head to Government House, where he will be sworn in as foreign affairs minister by Governor-General Quentin Bryce. He will spend his first question time in federal Parliament as a backbencher and is expected to be the focus of the opposition’s attentions from tomorrow when he joins the front bench. One of Mr Carr's first tasks as Foreign Minister will be to host his Indonesian counterpart Marty Natalagawa who arrives in Canberra tomorrow. Mr Carr has said that he thinks ''fondly of Indonesians'' and praised the country for economic and democratic progress.

But tetchy issues in the relationship are likely to be on the agenda, with concerns about animal cruelty in Indonesian abbatoirs last year leading to a ban on Australian cattle exports and ongoing debates in Australia about asylum seekers travelling through Indonesia. Dr Natalagawa will give a speech at the Australian National University and also hold talks with Defence Minister Stephen Smith. Follow the National Times on Twitter: @NationalTimesAU