A recent RedBridge poll shows the Coalition has overtaken Labor in preferred voting, with One Nation leading in primary vote support. The survey was conducted following an 18-year high increase in the cash rate by the Reserve Bank to 4.85 percent.
On a two-party-preferred basis, the Coalition leads Labor 53 percent to 47 percent. In a separate comparison, Labor holds a 54 percent to 46 percent advantage over One Nation.
Regarding primary votes, One Nation garnered 28 percent, followed by Labor at 26 percent, the Coalition at 25 percent, and the Greens at 13 percent.
Responding to the poll, Prime Minister Anthony Albanese stated that voters would assess his government based on its economic performance, Medicare, and employment figures. He highlighted the government's strengthening of Medicare, the nation's low unemployment rate compared to the past 50 years, and the absence of negative growth quarters, which he contrasted with most advanced economies.
Albanese criticized the opposition, describing them as a "rabble of dysfunction" composed of One Nation, the Liberals, and the Nationals, with the Greens acting as a protest party. He urged them to be constructive and support proposed savings measures before Parliament.
The Prime Minister's net approval rating saw an improvement, moving from minus 27 to minus 23. Treasurer Jim Chalmers also saw a slight increase, from minus 23 to minus 22.
Opposition leader Angus Taylor's rating improved by one point to minus 5, while Pauline Hanson's fell by four points to minus 14. In a three-way contest for preferred prime minister, Albanese dropped one point to 30 percent, Hanson fell two points to 24 percent, and Taylor rose one point to 16 percent.
Shadow Treasurer Tim Wilson commented on the poll, suggesting it reflects a decline in voter confidence in Labor's economic management. He accused the government of exacerbating inflation through excessive spending, stating, "The Prime Minister keeps stoking inflation and making Australians poorer because this government's economic model is built around an active inflation agenda."
Wilson further elaborated that this approach "fuels inflation, taxes inflation and spends inflation in a vicious cycle that is sending households backwards."
While the government has asserted that public spending is not a primary driver of inflation, new analysis indicates that domestic factors are predominantly responsible for Australia's price pressures, rather than international events. According to modelling from the Business Council of Australia, nearly 70 percent of inflation originates from non-tradeable sectors of the economy, such as housing and rents, which are largely insulated from global market forces.
This modelling attributes approximately three percentage points of Australia's 4.3 percent annual inflation rate to domestic, non-tradable components, with a smaller portion linked to international pressures.
"Australians are having to choose between keeping a roof over their heads and paying for opportunities for their children," Wilson stated. "We should be a country where families do not have to make those kinds of sacrifices."