Labor is leading the Coalition 54% to 46% in two-party terms, a new poll has revealed after the marriage equality postal survey was announced and ministers became embroiled in questions about their citizenship.
The Coalition’s core support has fallen to 35% while Labor’s has risen to 38%, according to the latest Newspoll. Malcolm Turnbull’s personal support continues to outstrip Bill Shorten’s, with 43% preferring him as prime minister compared with 33% for Shorten.
If the primary vote trend held then Labor would gain about 20 seats at the next federal election and win government.
One Nation’s support has risen from 8% to 9% in the past fortnight, while the Greens’ has fallen from 11% to 9%. Both movements were within the margin of error of 2.4 percentage points.
The fall in the Coalition’s primary vote comes in a fortnight when Turnbull announced Australians will vote in a voluntary survey on same-sex marriage, before it goes to a vote in parliament if a positive result is returned.
The deputy prime minister, Barnaby Joyce, was the most senior member of the Coalition to announce he holds a dual citizenship, possibly making him ineligible for parliament. The deputy Nationals leader, Fiona Nash, and the former resources minister Matt Canavan will also face the high court over questions about their citizenship.
