Newspoll: Malcolm Turnbull sinks as Barnaby Joyce, Fiona Nash citizenship crisis hits

LABOR has held its 54-46 two-party preferred lead over the Coalition government for the third Newspoll running, as the citizenship crisis hits.

The Coalition’s primary vote has also dropped from 36 to 35 per cent, while Labor’s remains steady at 37 per cent, the latest Newspoll in The Australian shows.

Despite a slight drop in the numbers of voters satisfied with Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull’s performance, and an increase in those dissatisfied.

The Coalition leader retains his 41-33 lead over Opposition Leader Bill Shorten as preferred prime minister.

But Mr Turnbull’s net satisfaction rating — which spells out the difference between those who are satisfied and those who are dissatisfied with his performance — has fallen to minus 28 percentage points.

Mr Shorten’s net satisfaction is also down from minus 20 to minus 24. One Nation’s primary vote remains at nine per cent, while the Greens’ is steady at 10 per cent.

The survey was conducted just as the government confronted claims it was in crisis over the High Court citizenship ruling, with Barnaby Joyce and Fiona Nash booted out of parliament.

Labor is preparing to exploit the removal of Mr Joyce from the lower house while he fights for his seat at a December 2 by-election.

In the same week, Mr Turnbull was under pressure to sack Employment Minister Michaelia Cash for misleading parliament over the role her office played in tipping off the media about a police raid on the Australian Workers’ Union.

The Newspoll survey of 1623 voters was taken from Thursday to Sunday. It was the 22nd consecutive Newspoll where the Coalition has trailed Labor.