For the first time since Malcolm Turnbull defeated Tony Abbott to become prime minister, Labor is ahead of the Coalition in the latest Fairfax-Ipsos poll, with one month to go until polling day.
The poll of 1,359 people taken this week shows Labor leading the Coalition 51-49 on the two-party preferred vote, a rise to Labor of two points compared with a fortnight ago. Newspoll and Essential polls from earlier this week showed Labor leading by the same margin.
However, the Fairfax-Ipsos poll showed Turnbull remains preferred prime minister, ahead of the opposition leader, Bill Shorten, at 49%-31%. And 55% of respondents expect the Coalition to be re-elected.
Meanwhile, a ReachTel poll also released overnight showed the parties tied at 50-50 on the two-party preferred vote, with the election campaign now at the halfway mark.
On Saturday Turnbull continues to campaign in Adelaide, after spending time in the electorate of Mayo on Friday with embattled MP Jamie Briggs, who resigned from the ministry in December following complaints of unacceptable behaviour involving a female public servant.
Meanwhile, Shorten campaigns in Melbourne, where he will announce proposed funding for arts and music programs. The seat of Maribyrnong in Melbourne’s western suburbs is safely held by the opposition leader.
On Saturday, the cabinet minister Christopher Pyne told Sky News that Turnbull was the best person for the job of prime minister.
“Bill is a major drag on Labor’s campaign because people look at him and recognise he’s a very ordinary man and they look at Malcolm Turnbull and recognise he’s the kind of person they want to have as prime minister,” he said.
But the Labor frontbencher Richard Marles said people had been impressed by Shorten while their disappointment in Turnbull was growing.
“The idea you all had that Malcolm Turnbull was going to come into this campaign and just sweep Bill Shorten away like a dirty rag has been completely and totally debunked,” he said.
