Coalition trails Labor on the two-party preferred basis 45% to 55% after a difficult week for the government in parliament

This article is more than 5 years old

This article is more than 5 years old

Voters are ready to ditch the government with Labor now enjoying a commanding 10-point lead over the Coalition after what Tony Abbott described a “ragged week”, a Galaxy poll published in the Sunday Herald Sun shows.

Primary support for the government has plunged to 38%, while support for Labor has risen to 41%. On a two-party preferred basis, the government is running 10 points behind Labor, 55% to 45%.

The federal Coalition is now further behind Labor than polling indicated for the Victorian party before the state election, which it lost with a swing of more than 2% towards Labor.

Galaxy pollster David Briggs said: “Given that the Coalition lost government in Victoria after just one term in office, this suggests that a similar fate could await the Abbott government unless voters see a notable improvement in their performance.”



Abbott will be hoping an overhaul of his paid parental leave scheme, which cuts out the most wealthy mothers and expands childcare options, will help his numbers in the weeks ahead.

Following the poll, Christopher Pyne sounded a warning to his backbench colleagues to pull their heads in and stop muttering darkly about the federal government’s performance.

The education minister, echoing language used by Tony Abbott, admitted the government had ended the year in a “slightly ragged position”.



But in a pointed message to his grumbling colleagues, Pyne said it was crucial they bounced back and pushed on with the job instead of “wallowing”.



“What my colleagues need to understand is that they are advocates for the government’s agenda,” he told Network Ten.



“My colleagues need to stop being background commentators and instead recognise that they are as much players on the field as I am or any other member of the leadership team.”



Rumours of a cabinet reshuffle, clashes of ego among senior ministers and anger over the handling of key policies such as the GP co-payment have fuelled backbench dissent in recent days.



Pyne scotched reports of a potential challenge underway for Joe Hockey’s job, saying he had every confidence in the treasurer but admitted he’d had a tough year.



The treasurer himself wasn’t being drawn into the speculation, simply stating he would be getting on with the job.



Cabinet minister Bruce Billson conceded the government could better argue its case for reform in areas like higher education and health.



“On these other areas of structural reform, I think we need to be stronger in our advocacy that there is a need for policy action,” he told Sky News.



He dismissed rumours of a cabinet reshuffle with a cricket analogy, saying the team was strong and there wasn’t a need to shake things up “because one person drops a catch”.