Australian gov’t records best poll result in 18 months

   CANBERRA, Apr 23  -- Australian Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull has led his government to its strongest poll position since September 2016.
   The latest Newspoll, released on Monday, found that the governing Liberal National Party (LNP) has closed the gap on the opposition Australian Labor Party (ALP).
   On a two-party preferred basis, the ALP's lead over the LNP has eroded to 51-49, down from 55-45 as recently as November 2017.
   It marks the 31st consecutive Newspoll for Turnbull, exceeding the benchmark of 30 losses he used as a reason for challenging former PM Tony Abbott for party leadership in 2015.
   However, it is the best result for the LNP since the period immediately following the 2016 election.
   The result comes two weeks after Turnbull said he believed he could still lead the LNP to an election victory in 2019 amid speculation that he was set to face a leadership challenge from the conservative wing of the party.
   In addition to the party's position improving, Turnbull's personal approval rating also climbed.
   Of 2,068 respondents, 36 percent said they were satisfied with Turnbull's performance, a four-point improvement from the previous poll.
   Turnbull also increased his lead as preferred PM over ALP leader Bill Shorten to three points.
   The poll was taken in the wake of an explosive week of submissions to the Royal Commission into Misconduct in the Banking, Superannuation and Financial Services Industry which the government responded to by introducing new laws that will see bankers who engage in corporate misconduct face up to 10 years imprisonment.
   The primary vote results for both the LNP and ALP remained steady at 38 percent for the LNP and 37 percent for the ALP.Xinhua