Trust in Albanese drops to 20% as voters blame government for cost-of-living pressures

A Resolve Political Monitor survey of 2,250 voters conducted between Nov. 2 and 7 shows trust in Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has fallen to 20%, the lowest level recorded since the poll began. The same poll indicates 42% of respondents hold the Labor government responsible for the current cost-of-living pressures, while 26% attribute the issue to international factors such as oil prices and conflicts in Ukraine and Iran. Only 7% blame the Reserve Bank, 5% point to state governments and 3% cite businesses.

The poll was released while Albanese attended a Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting in Antigua and the Reserve Bank raised interest rates for the fifth time this year, bringing the cash rate to an 18-year high of 4.85%. September inflation was reported at 4.3%, and Reserve Bank Governor Michele Bullock warned that many Australians feel they are in a recession.

Opposition frontbencher Dan Tehan told ABC’s Insiders that Labor should study the recent U.S. midterm results, saying, "Prime Minister Albanese, Jim Chalmers and [Energy Minister] Chris Bowen should be paying very close attention [to the US midterm results]. I mean, cost of living was a key issue there that drove the change there, and I think people didn’t feel like the government, the Trump administration, was really 100 per cent focused on that. And I think it’s exactly the same here in Australia."

Labor’s primary vote slipped to 28%, matching its post-election low, while the Coalition fell to 22% and One Nation held at 25%. The Greens rose to 13% after a leadership change. Trust in Albanese’s statements declined by six points since September, and 43% now say they never trusted him, up nine points.

In the preferred-prime-minister question, Albanese fell to a record-low 29%, while Coalition leader Angus Taylor rose to 25% and One Nation leader Pauline Hanson slipped to 24%. Albanese’s net performance rating stands at –22%, compared with Taylor’s +9%.

Resolve Political Monitor pollster Jim Reed said the results show “Albanese, Chalmers and Labor are shedding personal capital at a rate of knots, but their vote is holding up,” adding that the prime minister’s low trust level reflects perceptions of distraction from inflation and the impact of recent tax changes and a local grant program.

Net likeability scores show Albanese at –19%, Taylor at +11% and Hanson at +4%. The Labor Party’s net likeability fell to –13%, while the Liberal Party’s rose to +11%.