Scott Morrison's approval rating nosedives as Labor draw level with the Coalition - and poll shows voters support state border closures
- Two major parties now deadlocked at 50:50 on a two party preferred basis
- Mr Morrison remains the preferred prime minister, but popularity has plunged
- Up to 80 per cent of voters also support state-to-state border closures
Scott Morrison's approval rating has dropped for the first time in months as voters swing toward the Labor party.
The Coalition and Opposition are deadlocked at 50:50 on a two party preferred basis, according to the latest Newspoll.
The poll shows popular support for Prime Minister Scott Morrison has fallen for the first time since the height of the pandemic.
A special poll also showed 80 per cent of Australians support border closures if the health situation demanded it.
According to the latest Newspoll, public favour has swung by four points toward the Anthony Albanese-led Labor Party
Ms Palaszcuk has been slammed for her tight border restrictions, with critics arguing they are destroying the economy (pictured, the border on August 7)
Not surprisingly, Victorians, who remain in stage-four lockdown as the state grapples with a horror second wave of the pandemic, were the least enthusiastic.
Mr Morrison has been outspoken in his criticism of border closures, urging state premiers to reconsider their tough stances unless absolutely necessary.
Queensland in particular has copped flak in recent weeks for reversing the decision to open borders to New South Wales.
The Sunshine State quickly closed borders when New South Wales started recording cases of community transmission after the infection spread north from Victoria.
Residents in Queensland and Western Australia - the two states with the strictest border restrictions - were most in favour of their premiers' decisions to keep borders closed.
Mr Morrison remains at record high popularity but his approval ratings fell for the first time since mid-April, dropping four points to 64 per cent.
Dissatisfaction with Mr Morrison's performance rose three points to 32 per cent.
Opposition Leader Anthony Albanese had a two-point rise in approval rating to 43 per cent but dissatisfaction with his performance jumped three points to 41 per cent. Mr Morrison's rating as preferred prime minister fell two points from a high of 60 three weeks ago to 58 per cent
Motorists are stopped at a checkpoint at Coolangatta on the Queensland- New South Wales border earlier this month
Opposition Leader Anthony Albanese had a two-point rise in approval rating to 43 per cent but dissatisfaction with his performance jumped three points to 41 per cent.
Mr Morrison's rating as preferred prime minister fell two points from a high of 60 three weeks ago to 58 per cent.
The Labor leader's fortunes rose four points to 29 per cent, the highest support for Mr Albanese since May.
The swing to Labor of three primary vote points to take it to 36 per cent came with no change to the Greens on 11 per cent, no change to the other minor parties at 9 per cent and a single point drop to 3 per cent for Pauline Hanson's One Nation.
At 41 per cent, the Coalition is back to the level of support it had near the end of April.
After months of enjoying the public support through the height of the pandemic - possibly due to the introduction of stimulus packages to keep the economy afloat -it now appears to be a two-party contest for the public's votes as the nation looks to economic recovery.
Police stop and question drivers at a checkpoint on the NSW/Victoria border when it was closed for the first time in 100 years amid the COVID-19 outbreak
