Voters tune out on Labor: poll

VOTERS appear to have switched off federal Labor and history suggests it will fail to claw back support in the countdown to the election, a leading political analyst says.

The latest Galaxy poll, released yesterday, found about 48 per cent of voters felt worse off under the Government’s Budget, announced last week.

‘‘There were no sweeteners in the Budget,’’ Galaxy analyst David Briggs told Network Ten.

‘‘The big difference between this year and last year is that in 2012, about 23 per cent of voters thought they would be better off and now it’s only 14 per cent.’’

On a two-party preferred basis, the Government was stagnant at 46 per cent and the Coalition on 54 per cent.

‘‘When Labor has a really good week in politics the polls don’t move,’’ Mr Briggs said.

‘‘When Labor has a really bad week the polls don’t move and that suggests to me the voters are either not engaged, or even worse, are just not listening.’’

The pollster said it looked unlikely Labor could make up ground. He highlighted three scenarios where parties have failed over a similar timeframe to come from behind in polls to win – the federal Howard Government in 2007; Kristina Keneally’s bid for Labor re-election in NSW in 2011; and Anna Bligh in Queensland in 2012.

Independent Senator Nick Xenophon said the outlook looked grim.

‘‘I think that even if Wayne Swan gave every voter a solid gold baseball bat for the Budget, most would still use it on the Government,’’ Senator Xenophon said.