Newspoll: One Nation 31%, Labor 30%, Coalition slumps to 18%

One Nation recorded 31 percent of the primary vote in a Newspoll published by The Australian, four points higher than its previous reading and one point ahead of Labor. Labor stood at 30 percent after a one-point decline. The Coalition fell two points to 18 percent.

The Greens dropped one point to 11 percent. Support for minor parties and independents held steady at 10 percent. 2-point margin of error.

A Redbridge Group/Accent Research poll released one week earlier had shown One Nation at 31 percent, Labor at 28 percent and the Coalition at 20 percent. Former prime minister Julia Gillard issued a statement after Melbourne brothel owner Franco Puleo confirmed he funded billboards in Victoria that displayed the phrase “Ditch the Witch” and targeted Premier Jacinta Allan.

Puleo told the Sydney Morning Herald the advertisements were not a political statement but reflected “what the Victorian public feel”.

Gillard said she was “disgusted” to see the slogan used again. “This was a slogan used against me as prime minister fifteen years ago,” she stated. ” Gillard added that in the years since leaving office she had believed conditions for women in politics were slowly improving.

“More women are leading, sexism hasn’t gone away but it is less ferocious in the political mainstream, though social media continues to be a toxic sewer,” she said.