JULIA Gillard's personal support has plunged to a new low as Tony Abbott outstrips her as preferred prime minister and Kevin Rudd surges ahead as the best person to lead Labor.
The Prime Minister appears to have borne the brunt of public disapproval over the failure last week of the government's plan to send 800 asylum-seekers to Malaysia. Voter satisfaction with Ms Gillard, who is now forced to deal with the Opposition Leader to keep alive the option of processing asylum-seekers overseas, fell six points to a record low of 23 per cent as dissatisfaction jumped seven points to 68 per cent. The only modern prime minister with worse personal support was Paul Keating, who had a satisfaction level of 17 per cent and dissatisfaction of 74 per cent in August 1993.
Ms Gillard's net satisfaction rating - the difference between voter satisfaction and dissatisfaction - is now minus 45 per cent. As Ms Gillard's personal standing fell, Mr Abbott jumped clear to a nine-point lead over her as the preferred prime minister, with a rise in support from 39 per cent to 43 per cent. Ms Gillard's support fell four points to a new low of 34 per cent.
This is Mr Abbott's biggest lead over Ms Gillard and the sixth Newspoll survey in a row in which he has been ahead as better prime minister.
