Roundup: Australian gov't fails key test by losing 30th consecutive opinion poll

CANBERRA, April 9 (Xinhua) -- Australian Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull has lost his 30th consecutive opinion poll, equalling the streak of losses by ex-PM Tony Abbott before Turnbull led a leadership challenge against him.

The latest Newspoll, published on Monday, revealed that the opposition Australian Labor Party (ALP) led Turnbull's governing Liberal National Party (LNP) 52-48 on a two-party preferred (TPP) basis.

It marks 30 straight losses for Turnbull two and a half years after he deposed Abbott as the premier and leader of the LNP, citing Abbott's 30 straight losses as a key reason for doing so.

Turnbull said on Monday that he regretted citing Abbott's Newspoll losses as a reason for taking the party leadership.

"I regret making those remarks at the time, making the remarks about 30 Newspolls at the time. But what I promised to do was to provide economic leadership and traditional cabinet government and I have done both," he told a press conference.

The LNP has struggled to govern under Turnbull's leadership with the government requiring near-unanimous support from crossbenchers in the Senate to pass key pieces of legislation.

Despite the poll extending the LNP's losing streak against the ALP to 564 days, Turnbull's government slightly narrowed the gap, improving its position one point from 53-47 in the previous poll.

If an election were held this week, the LNP, which holds a one-seat majority in the House of Representatives, would surrender 14 seats to the ALP.

The poll found that Turnbull remained Australia's preferred PM, leading ALP leader Bill Shorten by 38 percent to 36 percent.

The Newspoll has re-ignited speculation that Turnbull is set to face a leadership challenge from the party's right-wing faction with Abbott being considered the likely person to lead such a challenge.

However, Abbott offered Turnbull his full support.

"We shouldn't obsess over polls. I never did. I don't think others should," he told reporters on Monday.

"What we should be focused on is being the best possible government and winning an election. It's got to be about our country, what's best for our country and how the government can deliver that."

Shorten echoed the sentiment of Abbott, saying that too much emphasis was placed on poll results.

"I don't define myself or Labor by polls released in newspapers," he said.

In an interview with News Corp Australia, Turnbull said he believed the next federal election, to be held in 2019, was still winnable for the government.

He said his strategy would be to "make sure that Australians understand the risk of a Labor government."

"I think Australians understand that Labor is now in a position where it could very readily form a government and that enables us to frame the risk," he said. Enditem