Visa, citizenship changes see minor boost in Turnbull's fortunes: poll

Labor and The Greens have dropped a percentage point each, while Coalition support remains steady.

Australian Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull (left) and Minister for Immigration and Border Protection Peter Dutton speak during a press conference

Australian Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull (left) and Minister for Immigration and Border Protection Peter Dutton speak during a press conference Source: AAP

The Australian has that the Turnbull government has seen a boost in its fortunes since a raft of measures tightening visa and citizenship rules, with the Greens and Labor losing one percentage point each since the last poll.

The latest Newspoll puts Labor ahead 52 to 48 based on predicted preference flows.

The Coalition itself saw no increase in primary support since the visa announcements – the government has trailed Labor since September last year.

With the dip in support for the Greens, One Nation is cementing its position as a leading minor party, with Newspoll showing the party's support either matching or exceeding the Greens since late February.

The bleed away from the major parties has continued, with almost 30 per cent of voters now expressing a preference for parties other than the Coalition and Labor.

Mr Turnbull has maintained his lead over Labor leader Bill Shorten, improving one point to 42 per cent, while Mr Shorten's rating also grew a point to 33 per cent.
The Newspoll was taken between Thursday and Sunday, after Mr Turnbull announced the new visa laws.

The government announced citizenship changes on Thursday requiring applicants to be a permanent resident for four years, up from 12 months now, face a stand-alone English test and commit to embracing Australian values.

The government also announced it would replace the controversial 457 visa scheme for migrant workers.

But the government has also been dogged over the past couple of weeks by divisions on housing affordability policy.

Media reports indicated the government was internally divided on investment incentive reforms and a proposal to allow young people to draw on their superannuation accounts for housing deposits.

The Newspoll also coincided with a visit to Australia on the weekend by US Vice President Mike Pence, who reaffirmed the Trump administration would honour a controversial refugee deal to relocate refugees on Manus Island and Nauru.

- with AAP

Related: Malcolm Turnbull announces new citizenship rules


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2 min read
Published 24 April 2017 6:46am
Updated 24 April 2017 8:37am
By Ben Winsor


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