Bridie Jabour theguardian.com, Monday 14 April 2014
Regional backing for the Coalition suffering as agenda becomes mired in debates including changes to race discrimination laws
Tony Abbott's policy agenda has been plagued by controversy. Photograph: Andy Wong/AP
The Greens have soared to their highest ever primary vote as disenchanted voters move away from the major parties, according to a Fairfax Nielson poll.
Tony Abbott has returned from a trip to Asia, in which he reached a free-trade agreement with Japan and signed one with South Korea, to polls that have the government trailing Labor on a two-party preferred basis and nosediving in regional areas, according to Fairfax Media.
Labor leads the Coalition 52% to 48% on two-party preferred, bolstered by the preferences of the Greens who have recorded a 17% primary vote overall and 27% in Western Australia, the telephone poll of 1400 voters showed.
The Coalition is bleeding support in regional areas, falling eight percentage points to 42%. In capital cities support dropped one percentage point.
The government has had a difficult couple of months with issues such as the repeal of 18C of the Racial Discrimination Act dominating the agenda along with the return of knight and dames in Australia, which the prime minister announced without consulting his party room.
The poll showed nine out of 10 Australians believed it should be unlawful to offend, insult or humiliate based on race and ethnicity, though respondents were not asked if they thought the wording of the act should be amended, as the government plans.
Six out of 10 people disagreed with the attorney general, George Brandis, when he told the Senate that people had a right to be bigots and only a third supported the return of knight and dame titles in Australia.
The government has also been preparing voters for a tough budget with a raising of the pension age to 70 being canvassed.
