Making reference to the Opposition’s crusade against the carbon tax, she said it was ‘‘easier to raise fear against the unknown, than the known’’. She said that she believed Mr Abbott was becoming ‘‘increasingly’’ desperate ahead of the July 1 introduction date of the tax. Mr Abbott's personal support is at its lowest level since he won leadership of the opposition in 2009. But both leaders have a way to go to win the public's approval, with 60 per cent of voters dissatisfied with the performance of Ms Gillard and Mr Abbott. The Newspoll shows support for the federal government has inched its way to its highest level in three months. Its primary vote crept up two points over the past fortnight to 32 per cent, while the Coalition rose by one point to 46 per cent.

On a two-party preferred basis, the Coalition retains a virtually unchanged, election-thumping lead of 54 per cent to Labor's 46 per cent – a rise of 1 percentage point. Deputy Opposition Leader Julie Bishop has attributed the poll result this morning to two factors. Ms Bishop told the Coalition meeting that cheques had started to arriving in the mail as part of the government's carbon tax compensation and noted that whenever there was discussion about Kevin Rudd coming back, Labor's poll numbers rise "in anticipation". The Newspoll figures are still abysmal but they're getting better. Observing that NSW Labor general secretary Sam Dastyari had been briefing the media that Labor was not ready for an election, Ms Bishop warned her Coalition colleagues to be ready for the possibility of snap poll.

The Newspoll result represents a five-point rise in Labor's primary vote since the budget on May 8. The survey was conducted after a brutal week in Australian politics, in which the Coalition aggressively pursued MP Craig Thomson, who is accused of using union money to pay for personal expenses, including the hiring of prostitutes. Mr Abbott and other Coalition figures have labelled Mr Thomson's speech to Parliament last week, in which he rejected all allegations, as "utterly implausible", and have referred the Labor exile to the privileges committee, with claims he misled Parliament. Mr Abbott and other Coalition figures have labelled Mr Thomson's speech to Parliament last week, in which he rejected all allegations, as "utterly implausible", and have referred the Labor exile to the privileges committee, with claims he misled Parliament. Mr Abbott and Ms Gillard engaged in a near week-long slanging match. Mr Abbott accused the Prime Minister of clinging to Mr Thomson's vote as a life-raft for her minority government, while Ms Gillard retorted that the Opposition Leader was playing a dangerous brand of gutter politics.

The result? Ms Gillard has overtaken Mr Abbott as preferred prime minister with a bounce of four points, rising from 36 per cent a fortnight ago to 40 per cent. Mr Abbott sank three points to 37 per cent. His personal support is now at its lowest level since he became Opposition Leader in 2009. Overall, Ms Gillard and Mr Abbott were judged equally badly – with 60 per cent of voters saying they were dissatisfied with their performance. The small measure of positive news for Labor comes ahead of today's caucus meeting, which some MPs have predicted will be "robust."

Cabinet unity took a hammering this week over the conflicting stories about the foreign worker agreement with mining magnate Gina Rinehart. Left-aligned MPs and senators are also expected to take issue with the changes to the single-parent payment revealed in the budget. MPs of all stripes weighed in on the poll numbers - with some Labor figures less cheered than others. NSW Labor senator Doug Cameron said the results were "still abysmal" and the "slight upturn" in the poll numbers were due to government measures to support people struggling with the rising costs of living. "The Newspoll figures are still abysmal but they're getting better," he said. Senator Cameron, who has been highly critical of the enterprise migration agreements announced last week, said he did not want to see "industrial apartheid' as a result of the program.

Parliamentary secretary Richard Marles said the uptick was because the public were turning off Mr Abbott, who he said was "a dog" of a candidate for the prime ministership. Opposition spokesman for Immigration, Scott Morrison, said it was a harder task for an opposition to be seen as "positive" by the public. The Coalition was not "worried" by the poll. But Queensland senator Barnaby Joyce ascribed the sustained attacks on Mr Thomson as a reason for the Coalition's slight poll slump. Labor backbencher Kelvin Thomson spoke out against the foreign worker deal for a second day and warned Labor to "not get too excited with this poll". Assistant Treasurer David Bradbury said: "People are seeing an Opposition Leader that is so desperate to try and bring a government down that they have formed an adverse opinion about how negative this bloke had become."

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