Tasmanian independent senator Jacqui Lambie has emerged as the second-most popular federal politician,with a net result of 10 per cent,while Coalition senator Jacinta Nampijinpa Price is third with a net rating of 6 per cent and strong name recognition after her to parliament.
Left to right:Scott Morrison and Lidia Thorpe are the least popular federal politicians while Penny Wong and Jacqui Lambie are the most popular.Marija Ercegovac
An exclusive survey also reveals the challenges for the government in holding support ahead of the next election,with Prime Minister Anthony Albanese slumping to minus 3 per cent in net likeability after soaring to 34 per cent just one year ago.
But the findings show Opposition Leader Peter Dutton suffers from a deeper problem with the community because his net likeability rating is minus 12 per cent despite a slight improvement over the past year.
The results in the Resolve Political Monitor,conducted for this masthead by research company Resolve Strategic,are based on questions to 1605 voters nationwide and highlight the intense dislike for some of the nation’s most recognised politicians.
Former prime minister Scott Morrison is the least popular figure,with a net rating of minus 35 per cent after he soared in popular support when he led the country during the pandemic.
He is followed by former Greens senator Lidia Thorpe on minus 29 per cent.
Former Nationals leader and deputy prime minister Barnaby Joyce has a net rating of minus 27 per cent and One Nation leader Pauline Hanson is on minus 25 per cent.
Voters were shown a list of 40 political figures and asked whether they had a positive,neutral or negative view of each of them,generating a net likeability rating by subtracting the negative number from the positive one.
One of the independent politicians,ACT senator David Pocock,has a net rating of 5 per cent,while Victorian independent MP Helen Haines is on 1 per cent.
Environment Minister Tanya Plibersek has a net likeability of 3 per cent,Education Minister Jason Clare has a rating of 2 per cent and Health Minister Mark Butler is on 1 per cent.
Treasurer Jim Chalmers had a strong rating of 11 per cent one year ago but has lost some of his popularity as voters have felt the impact of rising interest rates and costs,cutting his net rating to zero. He is familiar to 63 per cent of voters.
Deputy Prime Minister and Defence Minister Richard Marles has a net rating of minus 1 per cent and is familiar to 47 per cent of voters.
Deputy Liberal leader Sussan Ley has a net likeability of minus 5 per cent and Nationals leader David Littleproud has a rating of minus 4 per cent.
In a reminder that personal approval does not ensure election victory,a found that then-treasurer Josh Frydenberg had a net likeability of 3 per cent,but he lost his seat of Kooyong in Melbourne’s inner east at the election five months later.
The survey two years ago found Albanese had a net rating of minus 7 per cent,but this did not prevent him winning the election in May 2022. Morrison had a rating of minus 6 per cent in the survey before the last election.
The,which is produced after every election by the Australian National University with academic experts from around the country,found in 2022 that only 11 per cent of voters cast their ballots based on party leaders,while 53 per cent based their decision on policy issues.
But ANU senior lecturer Jill Sheppard,one of the team behind the election study,said the outcome in May 2022 showed the importance of a leader’s personal appeal even if voters say this is not the most crucial issue for them.
“No matter how resoundingly and regularly voters say they care about the economy,even good economic conditions can’t overcome widespread dislike of a leader,” she said.
“That Morrison lost,and that Frydenberg even lost his own seat,while unemployment was so low and the economy generally so stable was new territory for Australian elections.”
Sheppard said it was too early to know how Dutton would fare over the year ahead,based on the contrast with Albanese on their appeal in net terms.
“We haven’t seen a genuinely well-liked leader in Australia since Kevin Rudd,so being unpopular isn’t a barrier to election,” she said.
“Morrison was not just disliked compared to Albanese in 2022,he was seen as historically untrustworthy,uninspiring,and dishonest.
“We won’t have those figures on Dutton until after the 2025 election,but we can assume the Liberal Party is tracking these relentlessly and will move on him if they get to Morrison lows.”
The latest results on likeability are separate from questions in the Resolve Political Monitor each month about the,which asks whether the leaders are doing a good or poor job.
The most recognisable politicians in the latest survey were Albanese and Morrison,who were familiar to 98 per cent of respondents,followed by former Queensland premier Annastacia Palaszczuk (96 per cent),Hanson (95 per cent) and Dutton (94 per cent).
One Nation leader Pauline Hanson has been named one of the country’s most recognisable politicians.Dan Peled
The personal rating of minus 17 per cent net likeability for Palaszczuk,who became a national figure with other state leaders at the height of the COVID-19 pandemic,came before union figures and her Queensland Labor colleagues in the hope a,could hold power at the state election due in October.
The Greens remain a polarising party in Australian politics,with strong recognition among voters but a net likeability rating of minus 11 per cent.
This is also reflected in the verdict on the party’s leader,Adam Bandt. Bandt,who has campaigned against the government this year with calls for and an,has had a slight improvement in his net likeability from minus 12 per cent one year ago to minus 10 per cent in December.
Cut through the noise of federal politics with news,views and expert analysis from Jacqueline Maley..