National snapshot Jones sprays PM as baffled

SHOCK jock Alan Jones has launched an extraordinary spray at Malcolm Turnbull on his first day back after a new poll showed support for the Government has plummeted.

The Sydney radio host didn’t hold back in his attack on Liberal Party “bedwetters” and the Prime Minister after a poll showed Labor now leads the Government 55- 45 on a two- party preferred basis.

The Government would have lost 24 seats if an election had been held this weekend, according to the poll.

“The Turnbull Government is an ideological swamp, an ideological vacuum,” Jones said.

“They don’t have a clue what they stand for, and when they seek to articulate a position, they change their mind every five minutes – witness the company tax debate.”

Jones fiercely defended former Prime Minister Tony Abbott in the vicious 12- minute spray.

Turnbull Government ministers have slammed Mr Abbott’s ongoing commentary on government policy and action, with the Prime Minister going so far as to blame a record low Newspoll result on a speech Mr Abbott gave in February.

Mr Turnbull called it a “coordinated” attempt to undermine the Government.

Jones, who returned to 2GB yesterday after recovering from surgery, slammed the Prime Minister for doing nothing in the top job after ousting Mr Abbott.

“No point becoming Prime Minister if you don’t know what to do when you get there,” Jones said. “The maths alone tell us that the Abbott critics are not going to save the Liberal Party or its values … I said when Abbott was sacked it would end in tears.

“Well the way we’re going and if you look at the polls, there won’t be enough handkerchiefs to go around.”

Support for the Greens, One Nation and Nick Xenophon Team remains steady, the Fairfax- Ipsos poll says.

Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull’s personal approval rating has also dived to 40 per cent, but he still narrowly leads against Opposition Leader Bill Shorten as preferred PM.

The poll is at odds with the most recent Newspoll, which found voter support for the Federal Government rose by three percentage points in three weeks, The Australian reports.

The boost in the Government’s fortunes was being linked to Mr Turnbull’s announcement of a $ 2 billion upgrade of the Snowy Hydro scheme.

Labor senator Sam Dastyari held nothing back when describing the poll numbers for the Government.

“These are s--- house numbers for the prime minister of Australia,” Senator Dastyari said.

“Let’s be clear, they’re not rumblings anymore about Malcolm Turnbull’s leadership, there are screams coming out of that building …

“If Malcolm Turnbull’s polling remains as terrible as it is, it’s hardly surprising that the Liberals are now looking for anyone but Turnbull.”