Grumpy voters believe that every key area of focus has gotten worse over the past year, with the exception of relations with China. 
The latest poll by the Australian Financial Review shows that voters perceive everything from wages to the economy, energy bills and the behaviour of politicians to deteriorate. Of the 10 key topics tested, the only one that was optimistic was the bilateral relationship with China. Of these, 54% believe it is improving, and 45% believe it is deteriorating or not changing. This leaves 9% more people recognising the Commonwealth** for improving Australia-China relations than not, up from 2% in the last test in December 2022. Stabilizing relations with China is a landmark achievement in 2023, marked by the lifting of most of the restrictions and the fact that Albanese has become the first Australian prime minister to visit China in six years. In addition to this, people have a low opinion of **. Two-thirds (67%) believe household finances are deteriorating, up from 56% a year ago. Despite making wage growth a top priority for its work, the public's negative perception has deteriorated from -6% to -18%. In the May budget, ** also joined forces with states to offer discounts on electricity bills. The poll found that 70% believe affordability is deteriorating, on par with 69% a year ago. The biggest change is a net 25% increase in the number of people who believe politicians' behavior has deteriorated, jumping from -14% a year ago to -39% now. There was also a net 20% increase in the number of voters who saw a decline in transparency in political decision-making. The share of voters who are optimistic about climate change has also dropped sharply, with the proportion of voters who believe Australia will achieve net zero emissions by 2050, down from net 20% last year to 5% currently. The poll, which surveyed 1,109 voters, was conducted last Friday through Sunday with a margin of error of 3%. 
The Prime Minister's rating has dropped dramaticallyOver the past 12 months, Albane's personal approval rating has also dropped dramatically. 
Albanes all but confirmed that there will be more cost-of-living relief next year, similar to or equivalent to what the Treasury Department says will help bring down inflation. "We will continue to look at how we can reduce the pressure on Australians without exacerbating inflation," he said. He blamed the decline in his personal ratings on the ravages of inflation. "It's clear that the economy will be under pressure during the inflation problem that affects the world," he said. Since taking office, we've created 700,000 new jobs, $23 billion in cost-of-living support, and we've saved $50 billion to turn a $78 billion deficit into a $22 billion surplus, and the right big decisions are all that matter, and that's exactly what we're doing. ”