The Coalition is in net negative territory on almost every indicator, and each decision that costs jobs and local industries adds to that sense of alienation and disengagement, write Peter Lewis and Jackie Woods.

Politics regularly serves up ideas too bizarre for any scriptwriter to imagine. The notion that on the 75th anniversary of World War II, Australia would be buying bargain submarines from the Japanese fits this category.

It no doubt looks good on paper: a solid regional ally offers the shells for our next generation of defence infrastructure at a price far cheaper than the Australian Submarine Corporation can deliver.

A government dealing with a self-imposed budget emergency grabs the opportunity, walking away from a firm pre-election commitment to continuing making subs in Adelaide.

Away from the balance-sheets, the decision smacks of tunnel vision, with thousands more manufacturing jobs to leave a state already reeling from the Government's wilful destruction of the car manufacturing industry at a time when unemployment is heading to decade-high levels.

And while Labor leader Bill Shorten may have over-egged it on the stump, the concept of outsourcing our subs to a nation that once attacked our territories with the same hardware is diabolical - especially for older voters.

Unsurprisingly, the Australian public has firmly rebuffed the idea in this week's Essential poll.

We found this week that people are equally nonplussed by the Federal Government's decision to defer increases to compulsory superannuation as part of its deal to dump the mining tax.

But these are just the latest in a string of government decisions that have attracted a public backlash - from deregulating university fees, to advocating for bigots, to forcing people to pay to see a GP, to the reinstatement of Knighthoods, the Coalition has served up a gumbo of ideologically indulgent and economically incoherent ideas since its electoral triumph.

The core platform of stopping the boats and axing the tax aside, the public has lined up to reject the Coalition's agenda in government, as our report card on the first 12 months shows:

On every indicator apart from international relations, the Coalition is in net negative territory. Even on traditional brand strengths like managing the economy and supporting Australian business, the Coalition is floundering - and the position has declined markedly over the past six months.

But this is not the end of the story. Incumbency provides governments with the power to shape their future destiny.

Faced with plummeting public support and internal criticism for being 'mean and tricky', John Howard intervened to cut petrol prices, one of the hot issues of the day. It stabilised his government, sending a message that he was listening, and set it up for another decade in control.

In contrast, falling poll numbers in the lead-up to the 2010 election forced Kevin Rudd to over-correct, to lose confidence in his agenda and open the way for an internal slaying that would be the seeds of its ultimate demise.

For Tony Abbott, the way he reacts to a disappointed public so early into his first term will shape the story to come.

This Government is at its best dealing with complex international issues, under the steady hand of the one woman who has made it into his Cabinet.

But with a public yet to be convinced about the plan or the commitment, the Government is vulnerable. And each decision that costs jobs and local industries adds to that sense of alienation and disengagement.

Rethinking the offshoring of our defence manufacturing capability and approaching it as more than a simple Dutch auction could be a defining first step in re-engaging a cynical public.

The survey was conducted online September 12-15, 2014, and is based on 1,000 respondents.

Peter Lewis is a director of Essential Media Communications. View his full profile here. Jackie Woods is a communications consultant at Essential Media Communications. View her full profile here.