Aussie PM's approval rating falls into negatives for first time: poll

CANBERRA - Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison's approval rating has fallen into negative territory for the first time since he took office in August.

According to the latest Newspoll, which was published on Sunday night, Morrison's approval rating fell four points to 41 percent while his disapproval rating rose to 44 percent, equating in a net approval rating of negative three.

It marks the first time that more voters have disapproved of Morrison than approve since he deposed Malcolm Turnbull as leader of the governing Liberal-National Party Coalition (LNP) in late August.

Turnbull's downfall came with the LNP trailing the opposition Australian Labor Party (ALP) 49-51 on a two-party preferred basis and set for an election defeat.

However, the most recent Newspoll had the LNP trailing the ALP by 46 to 54 and facing a landslide defeat at the election, which is due to take place in May 2019.

The LNP's primary vote rate was 36 percent, Newspoll, found, down 1 percent from mid-October but up from the record-low 33 percent recorded in the immediate aftermath of Turnbull's demise.

The LNP received 42 percent of primary votes in the 2016 election, in which it won a one-seat majority, while the ALP's primary vote rate is up 5 percent from the 34 percent it received in 2016.

If the LNP fails to make up any ground on the ALP before the 2019 election, it could lose as many as a third of its seats in the House of Representatives, eight of which are held by ministers in Morrison's government.

The poll was taken after the government lost a by-election in Turnbull's former seat in Wentworth, leaving it without a majority in the House of Representatives.