Newspoll: Tony Abbott’s Personal Support Decreases; Indonesia Pounds on PM’s Asylum Seeker Policy
For the first sitting week of the 44th parliament, Newspoll conducted exclusively for The Australian a survey which revealed that Prime Minister Tony Abbott's personal support decreased.
There were two factors that contributed much to this descend in personal support: Mr Abbott was continuously being criticised about his claims of carbon tax repeal and Indonesia's hard attitude against Mr Abbott's asylum seekers policy.
The Latest Newspoll survey showed that dissatisfaction for Mr Abbott went up four percentage points from 34 per cent to 38 per cent; while satisfaction rating had plummeted from 47 per cent to 45 per cent.
During Mr Abbott's September election win, he had obtained a record of personal satisfaction of 47 per cent and a low dissatisfaction rating of 34 per cent. Unfortunately, this favourable rating had fallen drastically in the past two weeks.
Mr Abbott had focused on upholding his carbon tax repeal bill from the very first day of his term.
Despite the Newspoll result, a day before the opening of parliament Monday, he kept pounding for the Australian Labor Party to support his bill.
"The carbon tax - which the former government put in place - was socialism masquerading as environmentalism. It was a great big new tax, a great big new bureaucracy, a great big new fund, and that's why it needs to go, and the point that I hope the parliament will be making this week is that we want to get rid of the carbon tax. The only people who want to keep the carbon tax are the Labor Party and the Greens."
As for Indonesia's hard stance against his asylum seeker policy, Mr Abbot claimed that the media was just exaggerating news.
During an interview with the Sydney radio, Mr Abbott said that the dispute between Canberra and Jakarta turning back the asylum seeker boats was just a "a bit of hyperventilating in the press, hyperventilating on both sides of this particular issue, but I think that our relationship with Indonesia is good and getting better all the time".
However, Dewi Fortuna Anwar, adviser to Vice President Boediono, said that Indonesia "want a win-win solution, not one dictated by Australia."
Canberra and Jakarta had been caught up in a disagreement over 60 asylum seekers rescued by an Australian ship off the south coast of Java.
Australian authorities wanted Indonesia to take these asylum seekers into its custody, but Indonesia refused. Indonesia had been refusing such requests ever since Mr Abbott's election in seat.
Ms Anwar explained why Indonesia had to refuse accepting asylum seekers being turned back by Australia.
"They're not Indonesians, the 65 people are coming from the Middle East. Our geography is not our choice. Indonesia is on the way to Australia. These people pass through Indonesia and the Australian Navy intercepted the boat and then expected Indonesia to take this boat back. They would be social burdens to Indonesia. They did not want to come to Indonesia," she told the ABC's 7.30.
"It should not just be one side imposing its will on the others," Ms Anwar strongly said.