Move FM Australian News

SYDNEY, Australia – While the Liberal Party is in  turmoil following the latest leadership bout, the Australian public’s view on who should be leader appears to have been cast aside.

Leadership contender Peter Dutton believes he has the best chance of defeating Bill Shorten at the next election.

The public who will decide, disagree.

In a special Snap SMS Morgan Poll conducted with a cross-section of more than 1,250 Australian electors late Wednesday, it was revealed that Shorten would be more favoured by Australians as prime minister, than Dutton.

On the sampled 1,288 people, 59% opted for the Labor leader, while 36.5% said they would prefer Dutton.

In the same poll, Malcolm Turnbull was ahead of Shorten by 52% versus 44.5%. 

“Today’s Snap SMS Morgan Poll shows Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull (52%) is preferred as ‘Better Prime Minister’ to Opposition Leader Bill Shorten (44.5%) despite the leadership speculation surrounding Turnbull this week following a challenge to his leadership by Peter Dutton,” Michele Levine, CEO Roy Morgan said Wednesday night.

“There is continuing speculation that Dutton will launch another leadership challenge to Turnbull as soon as today. If the Liberal Party chose to elect Peter Dutton as the new Liberal Party Leader they would be handing Bill Shorten and the ALP a certain victory at the next Federal Election.”

“On the central question of who would make the Better Prime Minister Opposition Leader Bill Shorten (59%) is clearly preferred to Peter Dutton (36.5%) as ‘Better Prime Minister’ following Dutton’s challenge to Turnbull on Tuesday morning,” said Levine.

 “Current Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull is preferred to Shorten across almost all key demographics including both genders, in all six States and amongst those aged 18-24 and over 50. Shorten leads amongst 25-34yr olds and it’s a dead heat between the two for those aged 35-49.”

“In contrast, the results are almost reversed for Dutton. Shorten is preferred to Dutton by both genders, in all six States and by Australians under the age of 65. Only Australians aged 65+ believe Dutton would make a Better Prime Minister than Shorten and by a slim margin (50% cf. 46%). Dutton is no stronger in his home State of Queensland than any other state,” said Morgans CEO.

“The choice for Liberal MPs and Senators should be clear if they want a chance of winning the next Federal Election, that means sticking with current Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull despite the turmoil.”

The Snap SMS Morgan Poll was conducted on August 22, 2018, with an Australia-wide cross section of 1,288 electors.