(Bloomberg) -- Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese’s approval rating fell to the lowest level since he took office in 2022 as voters reported mounting struggles with the cost of living. The central bank, meanwhile, signaled it won’t deliver monetary relief any time soon.
Dissatisfaction with Albanese’s performance advanced three percentage points to 54% in the latest Newspoll survey released by The Australian newspaper, the worst result since his center-left Labor government was elected in 2022. The prime minister’s approval rating slid two points to 41%.
On a two-party preferred basis, Labor is tied with the center-right Liberal National opposition at 50-50, a result that if replicated at an election would likely force one of them to govern with the support of minority parties.
Albanese’s faltering approval ratings come as Reserve Bank officials make clear that the key rate is likely to remain at a 12-year high of 4.35% for the rest of this year. Policymakers are struggling to rein in inflation that’s easing more quickly offshore, with the US expected to cut rates this month.
Sticky inflation and the RBA’s elevated rates have left many Australians struggling with cost of living pressures, and polls show they are growing impatient with the government for more relief.
The Newspoll survey comes ahead of the release of second-quarter GDP data on Wednesday that are expected to show Australia’s economy expanded an anemic 0.2% over the three months, and just 0.9% from a year prior.
Polling by Redbridge, cited by the Australian Broadcasting Corp., found only 24% of Australians could name a government policy that had improved their lives. That’s despite Albanese’s administration announcing tax cuts, power bill subsidies and university debt relief in the past year alone.
At the same time, the Newspoll survey found most voters expected that inflation would be high no matter who was in power, with 41% saying it would be about the same as it is now under a Coalition government. Just 24% of voters said they believed inflation would be lower under Liberal Party leader Peter Dutton.
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