Prime Minister Scott Morrison hasn’t enjoyed the best of times in Glasgow for COP26 and, judging by his new approval rating, his international performance has come back to bite him.
The Guardian reports that Morrison’s approval rating is now at its lowest level since before the coronavirus pandemic. Their Essential poll of 1,089 people discovered a 6% drop in his voter approval: 48% approved of the job he was doing as PM while 42% disapproved.
Morrison’s rating has been trending downwards all year, going from as high as 65% in February to this lowest point in November. He’s now at his lowest approval rating since the 41% recorded in March 2020 during the aftermath of the black summer bushfires.
While his approval rating remains steady across most Australian states, a remarkable drop has been discovered in Queensland, with his approval decreasing from 60% to 46%.
In the battle with Labor leader Anthony Albanese, Morrison still comes out on top, with 44% to 28% believing in him being the best person for PM, although again this percentage has dropped from 52% in February.
The percentage of those who think Morrison deserves reelection has also decreased, with 45% of people polled now believing it’s “time to give someone else a go”, up from 41% in August.
The poll was taken as Morrison endured a rough week overseas, becoming involved in a feud with French president Emmanuel Macron and being put under the spotlight for Australia’s climate policy issues. That saw a huge 47% of people polled say his behaviour has “undermined” the country’s reputation on the international stage, with just 27% believing the PM has boosted Australia’s worldwide reputation.
In regards to the climate policy issues, a total of 43% say the net zero by 2050 commitment isn’t going far enough, with 37% saying it actually is enough.
43% also want the government to set a more ambitious 2030 target, with more people polled believing this important than the 25% who thought the net zero 2050 pledge was the priority.
A majority of people (52%) polled weren’t confident that the UN summit would actually lead to meaningful changes to effect climate change and reduce worldwide emissions.
Check out a report on the fallout between Scott Morrison and Emmanuel Macron:
