PM Says Australians Feel Let Down by the System Amid One Nation Poll Surge

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese says Australians don’t feel the system is working for them in response to another poll showing the conservative-leaning One Nation gaining top spot as the most popular party in the country.

The Newspoll survey recorded a four-point rise in One Nation’s primary vote to 31 percent, while Labor dipped one point to 30 percent and the Coalition fell two points to 18 percent.

It’s the first time since Newspoll started in 1985 that the major parties, both Labor and the Coalition combined, attracted less than than 50 percent of the primary vote.

It follows strong criticism of Labor’s controversial tax and wealth vehicle overhaul in the May budget, with the Coalition and One Nation opposing the changes, and the Greens yet to indicate they will support the legislation.

Albanese said his government will continue to focus on making a practical difference to people’s lives.

“Many people feel that the system isn’t working for them, that they’re working for the economy, not the economy with them,” he told reporters in Canberra on Monday.

“We want to make sure that we put in place mechanisms that do make a difference, not politically easy decisions, but the right decisions.

“If governments don’t respond to that, there’ll be a continued rise in populism, be it of the right or the left. It’s something that we are very conscious of.”

Social Services Minister Tanya Plibersek agreed the country needed to change.

“We see those polls and we get the message, which is we need big changes in this country, and that’s exactly what Labor is delivering,” she told Seven’s Sunrise.

“Pauline Hanson’s been around politics for three decades and she still has got a list of complaints and no real policies for change.”

Published in The Australian, the Newspoll also showed a one-point decline for the Greens to 11 percent while backing for those in the “others” category—minor parties and ­independents—remained unchanged on 10 percent.

One Nation MP Barnaby Joyce, also on Sunrise, said Labor’s “scratchy” reaction to the polling showed it was in serious trouble.

“One Nation is a reflection of the sentiment of the people … [they] are over Labor and they’re over the Coalition,” he said.

Joyce said the nation needed to re-evaluate the number of people it “could absorb” amid a debate around immigration as housing supply comes under further strain.

Deputy Liberal leader Jane Hume said it was the Coalition’s job to demonstrate to voters it was a credible alternative that would restore their standard of living.

“One Nation is a grievance party that delivers slogans but not solutions,” she told Sky News.

“We’ll also make sure that we put Australians first. That’s the promise that we’ll deliver—a freer and fairer and better Australia.”

The latest poll is in line with the results of a recent Redbridge Group/Accent Research analysis that showed One Nation on track to win up to 59 seats, which would displace the Coalition as the opposition and force Labor into minority government.

The Newspoll puts Albanese’s net approval rating—the number of people satisfied with his performance minus those dissatisfied—at minus 24.

It found just 36 percent of participants were satisfied with the prime minister’s performance, while 60 percent were unhappy.

A month ago, Albanese’s net approval rating in Newspoll was minus 17.

It involved 1,240 voters, has a 3.2-point margin of error and was conducted between Monday and Thursday last week.

At the 2025 federal election, Labor received 34.6 percent of the primary vote while the Coalition garnered 31.8 percent.

One Nation collected 6.4 percent and did not win any seats in the lower house.

The party has since won its first seat in the House of Representatives after David Farley took the regional New South Wales seat of Farrer from the Liberals in May’s by-election.

By Tess Ikonomou in Canberra.