Voter support for Australian PM falls to 18-month low

CANBERRA, Sept. 20 (Xinhua) -- Voter support for Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison has fallen to its lowest level since the start of the coronavirus pandemic.

According to the latest Newspoll, which was published on Sunday night, the proportion of voters satisfied with Morrison's performance has fallen three points since late August to 46 percent.

It coincides with a rise in the number of voters dissatisfied with Morrison to 50 percent, giving him a net satisfaction rating of negative four.

It is Morrison's lowest net rating since March 2020 and marks a major fall from a positive-34 rating in September 2020.

In August 50 percent of Newspoll respondents chose the incumbent Morrison as their preferred PM compared to 34 percent for opposition Labor Party leader Anthony Albanese.

The gap between the two shrunk to 12 points in the latest poll, with 47 percent preferring Morrison and 35 percent Albanese.

Albanese's Labor leads Morrison's Coalition 53-47 on a two-party preferred basis, marking five consecutive Newspolls where Labor has held the ascendancy.

The poll was taken at a time when about half of the Australian population was in lockdown to curb the spread of COVID-19.

As of Sunday, there have been 31,778 new infections confirmed nationwide in September, making it Australia's worst month of the pandemic.