<p>Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison's approval ratings fell to the lowest level in a year as his conservative government struggles to contain a backlash over allegations of mistreatment of female MPs and staff, a poll showed on Monday.</p>.<p>A Newspoll conducted for The Australian newspaper showed Morrison's public support dropped seven points in two weeks to 55%, the first time since last March that his approval ratings have not been in the 60s.</p>.<p>Morrison's government also trails opposition Labor on a two-party preferred basis, where votes for minor parties are distributed, by 52-48. If the poll result was replicated at an election, the conservative government would lose office to centre-left Labor.</p>.<p>The Australian parliament has been engulfed by allegations of sexual abuse, discrimination against women and misconduct.</p>.<p><strong>Also read: <a href="https://www.deccanherald.com/national/australian-pm-greets-good-friend-modi-on-holi-967573.html" target="_blank">Australian PM greets 'good friend' Modi on Holi</a></strong></p>.<p>The poll comes after historical rape allegations were aired against Attorney-General Christian Porter. Porter strongly denies the claim of the alleged 1988 rape.</p>.<p>Separately, two female employees of Morrison's Liberal Party have said they were raped by a former employee, who has not been identified, in 2019 and 2020.</p>.<p>There have also been reports of lewd acts by male staff in parliament, fueling outrage that the government has allowed a toxic and sexist workplace to fester.</p>.<p>Morrison, who on Saturday reprimanded one of his lawmakers for bullying two women constituents, has ordered a probe into parliament's workplace culture but critics say he has failed to map out any new policy initiatives to address the broader issues of sexism and violence against women.</p>.<p>After a surprise victory in the 2019 election which left the ruling coalition with a wafer-thin majority, Morrison's popularity waned over perceptions he mishandled the response to deadly bushfires in 2019-2020.</p>.<p>His standing had recovered as Australia successfully contained the coronavirus pandemic, before the government's alleged mistreatment of women brought his poll ratings down again.</p>.<p>Tens of thousands of women protested earlier this month outside parliament and around Australia calling for gender equality and justice for victims of sexual assault.</p>.<p>The Newspoll was based on surveys of just over 1,500 voters across capital cities and regional areas from Wednesday to Saturday, with a margin of error of plus or minus 2.5 percentage points.</p>
<p>Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison's approval ratings fell to the lowest level in a year as his conservative government struggles to contain a backlash over allegations of mistreatment of female MPs and staff, a poll showed on Monday.</p>.<p>A Newspoll conducted for The Australian newspaper showed Morrison's public support dropped seven points in two weeks to 55%, the first time since last March that his approval ratings have not been in the 60s.</p>.<p>Morrison's government also trails opposition Labor on a two-party preferred basis, where votes for minor parties are distributed, by 52-48. If the poll result was replicated at an election, the conservative government would lose office to centre-left Labor.</p>.<p>The Australian parliament has been engulfed by allegations of sexual abuse, discrimination against women and misconduct.</p>.<p><strong>Also read: <a href="https://www.deccanherald.com/national/australian-pm-greets-good-friend-modi-on-holi-967573.html" target="_blank">Australian PM greets 'good friend' Modi on Holi</a></strong></p>.<p>The poll comes after historical rape allegations were aired against Attorney-General Christian Porter. Porter strongly denies the claim of the alleged 1988 rape.</p>.<p>Separately, two female employees of Morrison's Liberal Party have said they were raped by a former employee, who has not been identified, in 2019 and 2020.</p>.<p>There have also been reports of lewd acts by male staff in parliament, fueling outrage that the government has allowed a toxic and sexist workplace to fester.</p>.<p>Morrison, who on Saturday reprimanded one of his lawmakers for bullying two women constituents, has ordered a probe into parliament's workplace culture but critics say he has failed to map out any new policy initiatives to address the broader issues of sexism and violence against women.</p>.<p>After a surprise victory in the 2019 election which left the ruling coalition with a wafer-thin majority, Morrison's popularity waned over perceptions he mishandled the response to deadly bushfires in 2019-2020.</p>.<p>His standing had recovered as Australia successfully contained the coronavirus pandemic, before the government's alleged mistreatment of women brought his poll ratings down again.</p>.<p>Tens of thousands of women protested earlier this month outside parliament and around Australia calling for gender equality and justice for victims of sexual assault.</p>.<p>The Newspoll was based on surveys of just over 1,500 voters across capital cities and regional areas from Wednesday to Saturday, with a margin of error of plus or minus 2.5 percentage points.</p>