Gillard's Labor dips below 30pc in new poll

Australian Prime Minister Julia Gillard.

The final sitting week of the hung parliament has begun with another bad poll for Prime Minister Julia Gillard, this one showing Labor's primary vote has slipped below 30 per cent.

The Newspoll to be published in The Australian today shows Labor's primary vote has dropped to 29 per cent while the coalition is on 48 per cent.

The poll also shows Opposition Leader Tony Abbott leads Ms Gillard by 12 percentage points as preferred prime minister.

Ms Gillard's support as preferred prime minister has fallen two points to 33 per cent.

The poll comes amid persistent talk about Labor changing leaders.

On Saturday the usually supportive Melbourne newspaper The Age urged Ms Gillard to stand aside for the sake of the nation.

Labor's fortunes have improved slightly on a two-party preferred basis, rising one point to 43 per cent, compared with the coalition's 57 per cent.

- AAP