Changed Abbott still can't win over voters

Australian Prime Minister Tony Abbott. Photo / Getty Images

Coalition backbenchers who tried to unseat Prime Minister Tony Abbott last month say he is a changed man. Voters are less impressed. The latest opinion poll brought little cheer for the Government yesterday, even as it prepared to dump yet another unpopular policy.

Labor has widened its lead over the Coalition to 10 points, according to a Newspoll published in the Australian, which would translate into a convincing election victory.

And while Abbott's approval rate has risen slightly, with 33 per cent of voters naming him their preferred prime minister, he still lags behind opposition leader Bill Shorten, preferred by 44 per cent.

The poll, undertaken as the Coalition marked 18 months in power, preceded an announcement yesterday that government subsidies to the car industry of A$500 million ($524 million), which were due to be axed, are to be reinstated.

The move follows a collapse in Coalition support in the car-making states of Victoria and South Australia, and will see the industry through to 2017, when Holden, Ford and Toyota plan to close their remaining plants.

It is the latest in a series of about-turns by the Abbott government, which in recent weeks has abandoned plans to charge a fee to see a GP, and reversed a long-standing promise to establish a generous maternity leave scheme.

It has also bowed to pressure to increase a pay offer to defence force personnel.

While backbenchers have welcomed what they say are genuine efforts by the Prime Minister to be more consultative, the latest battleground is pensions, with Liberal MPs pressing Abbott to drop plans to reduce the indexation rate.

Treasurer Joe Hockey, meanwhile, has drawn fire for suggesting Australians should be allowed to dip into their superannuation funds to buy their first home. Among his critics are former prime minister Paul Keating.

The Liberal Party is also under pressure in NSW, where it is campaigning to retain power in the state election on March 28.

A survey by the ABC has found most voters oppose Premier Mike Baird's plan to privatise electricity assets to fund new infrastructure.