Australia Coalition Leader Peter Dutton
Opposition leader Peter Dutton Wikimedia Commons

Australia's Opposition leader Peter Dutton edged ahead of incumbent Prime Minister Anthony Albanese as preferred choice to head the next government with 36% voters supporting him, according to a latest poll survey.

For the first time, the opposition leader got more votes winning four percentage points ahead of Albanese, whose ranking dropped five percentage points from the survey held in May, AAP reported. The Resolve Political Monitor, conducted for The Age and the Sydney Morning Herald, surveyed over the 1,600 eligible voters last week.

While, the coalition's vote has been steady, the Labor Party's support fell from 29 to 28 per cent, its lowest in three years. In August 2022, Albanese had garnered a 37% lead with 55% backing him over Dutton.

However, pollsters did not expect the Coalition headed by Dutton to form the next government. Despite the uncertainty of Labor securing a majority in the lower house of Parliament, Samaras supported Albanese to assume power in the coming election.

"If you look at Resolve's numbers, a significant proportion of Australians are not giving either leader any support," strategist Kos Samaras told AAP.

Dutton still has not managed to win the outer-suburban seats, which he lost to Independent in 2022, he pointed out.

"That measure gives a nice headline ... but it doesn't give you the granular insight into what is really going to happen across a number of electorates," Samaras added.

Voters ranked Coalition ahead of Labor on the issues of managing economy and national security and defense, Nine News.com reported.

On economy management, 40% backed Dutton and the Coalition, with 24% voting for Labor. On the issue of national security, 42% preferred Dutton and the Coalition, while 23% preferred Albanese and Labor.