Liberal MP admits ‘broken faith’ amid Hanson poll surge
The Liberals admit their party’s trust with voters has been damaged after a new poll showed more Australians prefer Pauline Hanson as prime minister than any other political leader.
The coalition’s preselection vote has fallen to a record low as the One Nation leader overtakes Anthony Albanese as preferred prime minister, according to a Resolve poll published in the Sydney Morning Herald and Age.
33 per cent of voters say they want Senator Hanson to lead the country, while 29 per cent are undecided and 22 per cent undecided for Mr Albanese.
Just 16 per cent favored Opposition Leader Angus Taylor for prime minister.
Liberal frontrunner Aaron Violi said voters were unhappy with the coalition after two splits and a leadership change, but insisted there was plenty of time to turn its political fortunes around.
“We know that as a Liberal party, as a National Party and as a coalition, we have broken faith in the Australian people. We need to work really hard to get that trust back,” he told Nine’s Today program on Monday.
“We have two years until the next election; there’s a lot to play for.”
One Nation MP Barnaby Joyce said he was “optimistic” about the changing political momentum and warned the 2028 election was likely to show a different outcome.
“First of all, don’t get carried away. I’m very aware of the arrogance… we’re going to focus on the here and now,” he told ABC Radio National.
Sunday’s poll was the first Resolve poll to give respondents three options for their preferred prime minister.
One Nation’s primary vote rose five points to 29 percent; This means that if an election were held today, almost a third of all voters would put the party first on the ballot paper.
Labor was slightly behind at 28 per cent, down one point, while the Liberals and Nationals were on a combined 20 per cent, down three points from the previous poll.
Deputy Finance Minister Daniel Mulino acknowledged voters were angry about the high cost of living but insisted Labor was the only party capable of addressing the problem.
“What I would say about One Nation is that they’re very good at identifying grievances, they’re not very good at finding solutions,” he told ABC Radio National on Monday, attacking Senator Hanson’s voting record on workers’ rights.
The Resolve poll also shows that support for ending the 50 per cent capital gains tax cut, a key part of Labour’s May budget, fell five points to 31 per cent last month amid a fierce campaign against reform.
The number of voters supporting the government’s clampdown on negative gearing also fell by two points – albeit within the margin of error – with just 29 per cent backing the new minimum 30 per cent tax rate on trusts.
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