Approval levels for Opposition Leader Peter Dutton have plummeted in the wake of the Liberals rejecting the Indigenous voice.
The latest Resolve Strategic poll, published in the Nine newspapers, showed Mr Dutton’s personal approval rating fall from -11 to -28, the lowest figure since he took over the Liberal leadership.
Labor has increased its primary vote from 39 to 42 per cent, while the Coalition has dropped from 30 to 28.
Prime Minister Anthony Albanese’s net personal approval rating has risen during the past month from 24 to 27 per cent.
Mr Albanese also leads in the poll as preferred prime minister 55 per cent to Mr Dutton’s 21 per cent, with a further 24 per cent undecided.
The polling followed the Liberals rejecting the proposal for the Indigenous Voice to parliament and executive government, which will be put to the public at a referendum later this year.
The party’s position led to MP Julian Leeser quitting the frontbench to enable him to speak freely in favour of a ‘yes’ vote.
It also came after the Aston by-election where a government won a seat off the opposition at a by-election for the first time in more than 100 years.
Writs will be returned for Aston later on Wednesday, paving the way for Labor’s Mary Doyle to be sworn into federal parliament in May.
The government will have 78 seats in the 151-seat lower house house following the by-election result.
Mr Dutton said the perception of “disunity” within parties was never rewarded by voters.
“But we’ve got a big rebuild to do,” he told Nine on Wednesday.
“We’re in the first 12 months of a government that’s in its honeymoon.”
Former Liberal frontbencher Karen Andrews – who announced on Tuesday she would quit politics at the next federal election – said Mr Dutton was electable, despite the low polling numbers.
“He is extraordinarily popular in Queensland, so he does resonate very well with people here in Queensland. What we need to do is make sure that we pick up seats in Victoria, NSW and WA,” she told ABC TV on Wednesday.
“This should not be a personality contest between Peter and Anthony Albanese or whoever is leading at the time you go into those elections.
“I would actually like to see more of the frontbench of both sides out there prosecuting their own portfolios.”
Opposition frontbencher Jane Hume said many people were concerned about the rising cost of living but were not sheeting it home to the Labor government.
“Eventually, voters will say ‘Well, look, enough blaming the previous government, what is it that you’re (Labor) doing to make my life better?'” she told Sky News.
“If they don’t get a significant answer, well that’s when polls shift.”
– AAP
