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NSW Premier’s approval rating slumps in pandemic-handling poll

Anton NilssonNCA NewsWire
A new poll shows support for Gladys Berejiklian’s handling of the coronavirus pandemic has fallen substantially since last year. NCA NewsWire / Jeremy Piper
Camera IconA new poll shows support for Gladys Berejiklian’s handling of the coronavirus pandemic has fallen substantially since last year. NCA NewsWire / Jeremy Piper Credit: News Corp Australia

Support for Gladys Berejiklian’s handling of the coronavirus pandemic has taken a big hit since last year, a new poll shows.

Data from a Newspoll survey published by the Australian newspaper shows Ms Berejiklian has the lowest approval rating on the east coast when it comes to handling Covid-19.

Only 56 per cent of respondents said she has handled it “very well” or “fairly well”, while 41 per cent either said she had handled it “fairly badly” or ”very badly”.

By contrast, respondents were broadly supportive of the way the Queensland and Victorian Premiers had handled the pandemic in their states.

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Sixty-seven per cent said Queensland Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk had handled it well, while 31 per cent said she’d done badly.

Victorian Premier Daniel Andrews fared only slightly worse than Ms Palaszczuk, with 63 per cent of respondent saying he did well and 35 saying he did badly.

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Camera IconFewer people appeared to approve of Ms Berejiklian’s pandemic handling this month compared with last year. NCA NewsWire / Flavio Brancaleone Credit: News Corp Australia

The poll was conducted between September 15 and 18.

Ms Berejiklian’s numbers were especially low when compared to what people thought of her pandemic handling last year.

In July 2020, 68 per cent of respondents said she did fairly or very well, and only 26 per cent said she did fairly or very badly.

Her general approval ratings also dipped, with a net satisfaction rating of 16 per cent, compared to 34 per cent in July last year.

The east coast Premier who best satisfied his constituents was Mr Andrews, with a net rating of 29 per cent.

Ms Palaszczuk’s net satisfaction level was 19 per cent.

The net satisfaction level is calculated as the difference between those who feel satisfied and dissatisfied with their Premier’s job performance.

Fifty-six per cent of respondents said they were satisfied with Ms Berejiklian’s job performance, compared with 40 per cent who were dissatisfied.

Originally published as NSW Premier’s approval rating slumps in pandemic-handling poll

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