Labor frontbencher Tanya Plibersek has brushed off the Government’s latest horror polling, insisting Australians struggling with cost-of-living pressures are a bigger concern than plunging support for the party.
Labor’s primary vote has fallen to 27 per cent in the latest Newspoll, down from 37 per cent a year ago, as the Albanese Government battles growing voter dissatisfaction and continued pressure on household budgets.
Ms Plibersek was confronted with the dramatic slide on Sunrise on Monday and asked how frustrating it was for the Government to see its support fall despite measures aimed at easing cost-of-living pressures.
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“Well, it’s not the polling that frustrates me. That’s not the issue. The issue here is people are obviously still feeling the pressure,” she said.
“And as a government, we need to focus on that and to to keep doing everything we can to take that pressure off people.”
Ms Plibersek pointed to Labor’s tax cuts, support for higher wages, cheaper medicines, increased bulk billing and measures aimed at helping Australians buy their own homes.
Pressed on whether the Government needed to change its approach in response to the numbers, she argued Labor instead needed to remain focused on delivering practical relief.
“I think we need to be wholly focused on delivering for Australians, taking, taking pressure off them, making sure that their wages are growing, that, you know, we’ve done tax cuts,” she said.
“We want Australians to earn more and keep more of what they earn through lower taxes.”
The polling also shows the political pressure is not confined to Labor, with support increasingly fragmented across the major and minor parties.
One Nation MP Barnaby Joyce, appearing alongside Ms Plibersek, played down the significance of individual polls.
“Polls are an indicator and they’re not a vote. And we don’t get carried away with ourselves,” he said.
“We believe that you just stay humble and keep trying to do the job and show what is actually required. A substantial change in behaviour.”
Mr Joyce argued Australians needed a different approach to cost-of-living and energy policy before confirming One Nation would support a cut to the fuel excise as motorists grapple with higher prices.
“We’ll support a cut in the excise. And we’re not coming forward with a number at this stage,” he said.
The latest result adds to months of volatile polling for the major parties as cost-of-living pressures continue to dominate the political debate ahead of the next federal election.
