Turnbull takes a little inspiration from Trump, gets rewarded with a popularity bump

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Published: 5:22pm, 24 Apr 2017Updated: 11:04pm, 24 Apr 2017

Australian Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull has recorded a rise in voter support just days after tightening rules for foreigners seeking work and citizenship under an “Australia first” policy, a newspaper poll showed on Monday.

Turnbull has struggled to stop a haemorrhage of voter support with far right parties including Pauline Hanson’s One Nation on the rise and with his conservative government lagging behind opposition Labor in opinion polls.

The next election is not due until 2019, but continued poor polling could undermine Turnbull’s leadership.

Tightening immigration and citizenship rules last week under the banner “Australia first”, similar to US President Donald Trump’s “America first”, boosted Turnbull’s personal rating four per cent from early April, said a Newspoll by The Australian newspaper, the highest in nearly two months.

While support for the government rose one per cent on a two-party preferred basis - where votes for minor parties are redistributed to the two main blocs - Turnbull’s government still trails Labor by a margin of 52-48, the poll showed.