Labor has increased its lead over the government in a new opinion poll, as South Australia's freshly elected premier says Prime Minister Scott Morrison is unpopular in the state.
A new Roy Morgan poll showed Labor rising two points to lead 58 to 42 over the coalition on a two-party preferred basis.
The poll was conducted over the past week, as petrol prices reached more than $2 a litre and the war in Ukraine entered its fourth week.
Labor also led on primary vote, 37.5 per cent to 31 per cent.
The opposition is also ahead on two-party preferred in every state but Queensland, with the coalition increasing its lead in the Sunshine State from the last election.
The poll results come off the back of South Australia's state election over the weekend, in which Labor reclaimed government after just one term in opposition.
It was the first time an incumbent government has been defeated at an election since the start of the pandemic.
Newly elected premier Peter Malinauskas said he wanted to see both parties elevate the discourse at the federal election, as he suggested the state poll could be a sign of things to come in South Australia when residents vote again in a matter of weeks.
"I don't think Scott Morrison is popular in South Australia. Scott Morrison hasn't delivered for the people of South Australia, plain and simple," he told ABC Radio on Tuesday.
"The former premier was repeatedly applauding Scott Morrison in a way that I don't think was consistent with the state's interests."
Mr Malinauskas urged both party leaders ahead of the election, due to be held by May 21, to focus on policies to make the country fairer.
"We're about to see a federal election where cost of living is a front and centre issue, and Australians get that politicians can't control the price of petrol, they can't control the price of groceries," he said.
"The way we address cost of living as a nation is to start having an incomes policy."
Meanwhile, a new study from the Australian National University has revealed support for the federal government has reached a new low ahead of the election.
Surveys from the ANUPoll series, which examines political attitudes, showed just 32 per cent of Australians would vote for the coalition.
The poll was taken in January 2022, during the height of the Omicron wave.
The university study compared the political attitude over January in 2020, 2021 and 2022.
It showed support for the government had fallen below the lows seen during the Black Summer bushfires.
The study's lead author Nicholas Biddle said the responses came following an extraordinary time in Australian politics.
"The Black Summer bushfires and the COVID-19 pandemic created a unique set of circumstances that potentially changed the views of Australians regarding the effectiveness of the current government, and the role of government in Australia," he said.
