Support for Anthony Albanese plunges amid cost of living crisis

Anthony Albanese has been accused of spending too much time ‘shaking the hands of foreign leaders’ while thousands of households struggle –  as a new survey reveals support for the Prime Minister is dwindling amid the cost of living crisis. 

New polling obtained by The Australian revealed that just 13 per cent of voters believe Mr Albanese is doing enough to combat the rising cost of living.

Of over 3,000 Australians polled by CT group, 36 per cent believed the Labor government has acted ‘very poorly’ in relieving households of financial stress. 

Just 30 per cent said the government has done ‘somewhat poorly’ on the matter while just 13 per cent said the government is managing ‘somewhat well’. 

Only a quarter of those polled believe the economy is being adequately handled. 

Meanwhile the Prime Minister’s net approval rating has declined by nine points since March, now standing at plus six per cent. 

Veteran broadcaster Alan Jones accused Mr Albanese and Treasurer Jim Chalmers of going missing while thousands of households struggle to make ends meet.

‘I have said for months where is Anthony Albanese and Jim Chalmers in relation to Australia’s cost of living crisis?’ Jones wrote on Facebook on Tuesday.

‘They are both nowhere to be seen.

‘The Prime Minister is too busy shaking the hands of foreign leaders; and the Treasurer never stops whinging about the ‘trillion dollars in Liberal Party debt’.

‘Meanwhile, both young and elderly Australians, households and small businesses are struggling.’

Anthony Albanese met with German Chancellor Olaf Scholz in Berlin on Monday to announce Australia will send a surveillance aircraft to Germany to monitor military and humanitarian supplies to Ukraine.

The PM also announced Australia will join the ‘Climate Club’ – an international group that aims to reduce greenhouse gas emissions.

New polling, obtained by The Australian, revealed that just 13 per cent of voters believe Anthony Albanese (pictured in Berlin)  is doing enough to combat the rising cost of living

The former radio host said the most ‘depressing’ part was that the Labor government would continue to spend ‘enormously’ in spite of the rising cost of living. 

Jones accused Mr Albanese of doggedly following the ‘ridiculous’ energy policies laid out by Chris Bowen, the Minister for Climate Change and Energy. 

In 2022, the Australian government committed to cutting greenhouse gas emissions by 43 per cent by the end of the decade.

Veteran broadcaster Alan Jones (pictured) accused Mr Albanese and Treasurer Jim Chalmers of going missing as thousands of households struggle to make ends meet

That was almost double the previous target set as Australia continues to work towards net zero emissions by 2050.

Mr Albanese said Australia was ‘ambitious’ when it came to targeting climate change by collaborating with other countries in a global response. 

The ‘climate club’ was formed last year as a way to encourage countries to voluntarily set strong targets to curb climate change.  

Mr Albanese met with German Chancellor Olaf Scholz (the pair are pictured on July 10)

Countries in the club include Argentina, Chile, Denmark, Indonesia, Colombia, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Switzerland, Singapore and Uruguay. 
 

Anthony Albanese also had an embarrassing marching mishap during his official visit to Germany, forgetting to stop during a military inspection and awkwardly wandering off.

It is an initiative that has been opposed by emerging economies such as China – the world’s largest emitter of greenhouse gases.

In March, a law passed through parliament requiring the country’s biggest polluters to reduce their emissions or pay for carbon credits.

The law regulate the emissions of Australia’s 215 biggest polluters.

‘I am delighted that Australia has announced it will join the Climate Club,’ Mr Scholz told a media conference in Berlin.

‘We also want to expand our existing energy partnership and develop it into a climate partnership in order to fight climate change even more effectively.’

The prime minister will travel to Lithuania later today for the NATO summit on the back of announcing Australia will join the Climate Club.

Deputy Prime Minister Richard Marles said tackling climate change would help Australia improve its trade and business ties with Europe.

‘Germany looks to us as a source for clean energy, clean hydrogen and the like,’ he told Sky News on Tuesday.

‘The opportunity for Australian industry in terms of supporting the energy needs of Germany … is massive.’