By Katie Cassidy and staff Mon 19 Aug 2013
Video: Voters in Batemans Bay give their opinions (ABC News)
Photo: Popularity falling: Kevin Rudd brandishes $50 notes in his hand as he speaks to supporters in Western Sydney yesterday (AAP: Lukas Coch)
Related Story: Rudd warns of recession due to budget cuts under Coalition
Labor has ramped up its attack on Opposition Leader Tony Abbott, releasing a new television advertisement warning of budget cuts under the Coalition as the latest opinion poll shows Kevin Rudd's personal popularity has hit a record low.
The Newspoll, published in The Australian newspaper, shows satisfaction with the Prime Minister has dropped to 35 points - which is a lower rating than when he was ousted from the job in 2010.
Satisfaction with Mr Rudd has fallen four points since the Newspoll taken at the beginning of the election campaign, and is half that of the heady heights he reached in the months after beating John Howard.
Voter dissatisfaction with him has jumped six points to 54 per cent, while Opposition Leader Tony Abbott's dissatisfaction rating fell just one point to 51 per cent.
Mr Rudd's satisfaction rating is the lowest it has been since returning to the Labor leadership; he was at 43 per cent when he took over from Julia Gillard.
Mr Abbott has been able to make up some ground in the opposite direction. His satisfaction rating rose three points to 41 per cent.
Labor's primary support is also at its lowest level since Mr Rudd wrested the Prime Minister's job back.
The point I will be making on September 8 should there be a change of government: Australia is under new management and Australia is once more open for business.
Tony Abbott
The Coalition now leads the ALP on primary support 47 per cent to 34.
Labor has also fallen further behind the Coalition on a two-party preferred basis, with the Coalition now holding a 54 to 46 per cent lead.
The poll has a margin of error of 3 per cent.
Speaking on Channel 7's Sunrise program this morning, Mr Rudd said he was "a fighter".
"There are many things worth fighting for in this election campaign," he said.
"You know what they are? I'm passionate about jobs... I'm passionate about hospitals. Been talking about that for the last 24 hours - plans for new accident and emergency wards, new cancer care centres.
"I'm passionate about better schools. Passionate about whether they all get NBN - broadband for everybody, not just for some.
"So this is a fight worth having and if you've looked at my political career in the past, it hasn't always been easy and I've been written off many, many times before.
"In this campaign, we're still in the second quarter."
The release of the figures comes a day after Mr Rudd delivered an impassioned speech to supporters in western Sydney, warning the Coalition was poised to "cut, cut and cut" spending on health and jobs, and declaring: "I am determined to prevail".
When asked about the Newspoll this morning, Mr Abbott said there was still two weeks to go.
"I've always said winning from opposition is like climbing Mount Everest and nothing that has happened over the last few days has changed my judgement," he said.
However, he added: "The point I will be making on September 8 should there be a change of government: Australia is under new management and Australia is once more open for business."
ALP attack ads out as campaign enters third week
As the election campaign enters its third week today, Labor has released new attack ads trying to capitalising on the Coalition's response to questions about how it will fund its savings.
The new advertisements, reminiscent of the memorable Grim Reaper AIDS awareness campaign of the 1980s, accuse Mr Abbott of planning to cut public service jobs, tinker with penalty rates and "cut billions from health and education".
Mr Rudd defended the new ad this morning, saying all Labor ads are "policy based".
"I stand by every one of those examples put in that spotlight advertisement," he said.
"Because this affects real people's lives. This is not about negativity, it's about accountability."
Coalition campaign director Brian Loughnane says the ads are false and misleading.
Furthermore, Mr Abbott added: "It is embarrassing that a government which has now been in power for almost six years... has no record to defend and nothing positive to say about the future, and is making a whole series of absolutely outlandish and false claims about the Opposition.
"And again, Mr Rudd should be better than that."
Both sides are accusing the other of having spent the most money on advertising so far.
Mr Rudd is campaigning in northern New South Wales today and is expected to make an announcement on health policy in Lismore.
Mr Abbott is spruiking the Coalition's small business policy while campaigning in the Sydney seat of Bennelong - once held by John Howard and famously won by Labor's Maxine McKew in the 2007 election.
He also announced a Coalition government would crackdown on gun crime by boosting funding for Customs screening and introduce a minimum mandatory sentence of five years' jail for people caught bringing in illegal firearms.
"The current government in losing control of our borders has not just failed to stop the boats, but it's failed to stop the guns as well," he said.
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