Support for Australian PM falls to 18 month-low

Canberra, Aug 9 Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison's approval rating has fallen to its lowest level since March 2020, according to the a new poll published on Monday.

The Newspoll survey said that Morrison's personal approval rating has fallen into negative territory for the first time since the coronavirus hit Australia, reports Xinhua news agency.

The opinion poll found that the proportion of voters satisfied with Morrison's performance in handling the pandemic dropped from 52 per cent in mid-July to 48 per cent compared to a record-high 85 per cent in April 2020.

For the first time since April 2020, after restrictions were first introduced across Australia to prevent the spread of Covid-19, more voters were dissatisfied with Morrison than satisfied, giving him a net rating of negative two.

The poll was conducted amid growing frustration over Australia's troubled vaccine rollout.

About half of Australia's population in New South Wales, Victoria and Queensland has experienced a lockdown so far in August to prevent the spread of the Delta variant.

Death toll increased from 923 at the end of last month to 936 on Sunday.

Amid the country's biggest wave of infections in 12 months, Newspoll found that support for Morrison's management of the vaccine rollout fell a further two points from mid-July to 38 percent.

Rising dissatisfaction with Morrison has left the Coalition party facing an uphill battle to win a fourth consecutive term in the government at the general election, which is due to be held before May 2021.

Newspoll found that the opposition Labor Party leads the Coalition 53-47 on a two-party preferred basis, its equal-biggest lead since the 2019 election.

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