CANBERRA, June 27 (Xinhua) -- The Australian government has edged ahead of the opposition less than a week before the federal election, the latest opinion poll, released on Monday, has suggested.
After the previous two Newspolls showed the coalition and the Labor opposition were neck-and-neck in the two-party preferred vote, the latest survey of almost 1,800 Australians showed the government's primary vote has risen to a 14-week high to propel it ahead in the two-party vote --- 51 percent to 49 percent.
The latest survey coincides with the controversial Brexit vote in Britain, which has split opinions in Australia about which party is better placed to deal with the fallout.
Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull took the opportunity over the weekend to urge Australians to vote for the "steady hand" of his government, while Opposition Leader Bill Shorten said his party could deliver "unity and stability," pointing to the Turnbull takeover of the Abbott government in last September.
According to the Newspoll, the Brexit news affected the minor parties most of all, with support for the Greens dropping to 9 percent of the primary vote -- its lowest level of support in almost three years -- while independents also fell across the board.
Meanwhile Andrew Walter, Professor of International Relations at the University of Melbourne said the government would likely be the beneficiary of the Brexit vote, as "disenchanted" voters who planned on voting independent might now switch their vote back to a major party to ensure future stability.
"Those voters who have been uninspired by either of the major parties are unlikely to switch their first preference vote due to Brexit, though the government may now gain more second preferences at the margin," Walter said in a media release on Monday.
According to the Newspoll, 65 percent of the respondents have "locked in" their vote, but 35 percent could be swayed in the lead-up to the vote on Saturday.
Despite the encouraging news for the government, Australian voters are still hesitant to buy in to Turnbull's well-publicized election slogans, with only one in three agreeing that the coalition will deliver more "jobs and growth" for Australia.
A new, Australian-Institute commissioned poll found that Australians were split as to which party would deliver more jobs and growth, a key slogan on the Turnbull campaign, with 33 percent trusting the government more, while 31 percent chose Labor, despite it not being that party's slogan.
Turnbull's rating as the preferred prime minister has slipped to an equal-record low, however Opposition Leader Bill Shorten's approval rating is still 15 points in arrears of the prime minister.
Australians will head to the polls on July 2.
