Essential: Labor romps ahead as Scummo fudges Hayne

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Via The Guardian:

The banking royal commission findings appear to have delivered a political fillip to Labor, with the opposition extending its lead over the Coalition 55% to 45% on the two-party-preferred measure.

The new Guardian Essential poll, taken before Monday’s major party brinkmanship on asylum seekers in the lead-up to the resumption of parliament, puts the government’s primary vote on 34% and Labor’s on 38%, and the independents’ share of the vote has risen to 11%, up from 9%.

The positive movement in Labor’s direction follows a shift in favour of the Coalition in last week’s survey. Last week Labor was ahead of the Morrison government on the two-party-preferred measure 52% to 48% – a shift within the margin of error from the last voter survey of last year, and one in mid-January that had Labor ahead 53% to 47%.

The fallout from the banking royal commission, controversy over the Liberal Tim Wilson’s use of a taxpayer-funded inquiry into Labor’s policy on franking credits to leverage a partisan campaign, and an escalating political brawl about border protection dominated the news last week.

Voters in the survey were asked a series of questions about the final recommendations of the banking royal commission delivered by Kenneth Hayne. The responses suggest people are impatient to see parliament move on the changes proposed by the royal commissioner, but are cynical about whether the process will deliver lasting improvements.

Both Labor voters (63%) and Coalition voters (62%) say the current session of parliament should not conclude until the banking royal commission overhaul is dealt with.

Leadership change, anyone?

About the author
David Llewellyn-Smith is Chief Strategist at the MB Fund and MB Super. David is the founding publisher and editor of MacroBusiness and was the founding publisher and global economy editor of The Diplomat, the Asia Pacific’s leading geo-politics and economics portal. He is also a former gold trader and economic commentator at The Sydney Morning Herald, The Age, the ABC and Business Spectator. He is the co-author of The Great Crash of 2008 with Ross Garnaut and was the editor of the second Garnaut Climate Change Review.