Social Services Minister Tanya Plibersek has taken aim at One Nation and the Coalition after recent polling shows Labor clinching back its lead.
Newspoll Results Show Labor's Resurgence
Plibersek appeared alongside Nationals leader Matt Canavan on Sunrise on Monday following the release of a Newspoll survey conducted for The Australian. The polling suggests Labor bounced back in the primary vote by three percent, up to 33 per cent, and regained its lead over One Nation which fell to 29 per cent. Meanwhile, the Coalition fell to a historic low of 17 per cent, nearing the Greens at 13 per cent and “others” at 8 per cent. Prime Minister Anthony Albanese also extended his lead as preferred leader, sitting at 49 per cent which is well ahead of Pauline Hanson at 31 per cent and Opposition leader Angus Taylor at 20 per cent.
Plibersek Welcomes Polling Improvement
Plibersek told Sunrise that Albanese and the Labor Party welcomed the recent polling after a chaotic week in politics. “It’s a modest improvement and of course that’s welcome, but we know that Australians are still feeling the pressure and that’s why we’re determined to make changes that actually make a difference for them,” she said. She then turned her focus on the faltering opposition parties, saying Australians want “real change and real answers”. “The three opposition parties they don’t have real answers, they’ve just got a list of complaints,” Plibersek said.
Canavan Acknowledges Coalition Struggles
Canavan responded by saying Australians have grown “understandably restless” by an increased cost-of-living and “volatile” housing crisis. “The government’s not acting on migration, we’re seeing that play out with the lack of housing and vacancy rates being at record lows,” he said. Touching on the Coalition’s further-decaying polling numbers, Canavan likened the Coalition’s approach to his days herding cattle as a jackaroo. “The herd is moving, it’s just not going through the right gate for us at the moment,” he said, admitting both Liberal and National parties have “got a bit of work to do there” before noting plans to cut taxes for Australians. Plibersek slammed the comment, saying the Nationals voted against Labor’s budget bill including tax cuts in the Senate the week prior.
