Aus govt recovers ground ahead of election: Survey

Canberra, April 4 A new survey on Monday revealed that the incumbent Australian government has made up ground on the Opposition ahead of this year's general elections.

According to the latest edition of Newspoll, the governing Coalition's primary vote has improved a point to 36 per cent compared to 38 per cent for the opposition Labor Party, reports Xinhua news agency.

The two-point margin represents a significant improvement for the government from trailing 41-35 in mid-March.

Newspoll found that Labor leads the Coalition 54-46 on a two-party preferred basis.

Prime Minister Scott Morrison is expected to call the general election for May within days.

The poll was conducted after Treasurer Josh Frydenberg presented the federal budget for the financial year 2022/23, revealing billions of dollars in spending measures to address the rising cost of living.

Labor leader Anthony Albanese's budget reply speech was headlined by a A$2.5 billion pledge to fix a "crisis" in the aged care system.

Morrison's net approval rating rose two points to negative 12 while Labor leader Albanese's fell to the negative one.

Forty-three per cent of voters identified Morrison as their preferred Prime Minister compared to 42 per cent for Albanese, with 15 per cent undecided.