Labor now has a clear lead in the polls, with the government slumping to a four-month low.

Prime Minister Tony Abbott’s fortunes have also taken a tumble, with Bill Shorten ranked as preferred leader.

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A newspoll survey conducted for The Australian shows Mr Abbott’s satisfaction level has fallen two per cent in the past month, while Mr Shorten’s has risen by four per cent.

In the past fortnight Mr Shorten has seen a surge in his approval as preferred leader, and now leads as better prime minister by a margin of five basis points.

Labor has opened up a 10 point lead on a two-party-preferred basis, 55 to 45.

This is the government’s poorest result in newspoll since August.

For the first time since July, Labor also has a higher primary vote than the government, 39 per cent to 36 per cent.

The Greens primary vote dropped two points to 11 per cent.