Scott Morrison’s personal approval has taken a hit for the first time since the height of the pandemic, bringing the Coalition and Labor to a deadlock of 50-50 on a two-party-preferred basis.

According to the latest federal Newspoll, Mr Morrison and Opposition Leader Anthony Albanese are on equal footing after a four-point turnaround in Labor’s favour over the past three weeks.

The Prime Minister’s approval rating sunk four points to 64 per cent but he remains at record-high popularity, the poll published in The Australian shows.

Mr Morrison has not suffered a drop in support since mid-April when the COVID-19 pandemic was at its peak.

Dissatisfaction with his performance as leader rose three points to 32 per cent while dissatisfaction with Mr Albanese’s performance also jumped three points to 41 per cent.

Mr Albanese’s approval rating, however, has risen two points to 43 per cent – nowhere near enough to overtake Mr Morrison whose rating as preferred prime minister fell two points from a high of 60 three weeks ago.

Meanwhile, the Labor leader’s fortunes rose four points to 29 per cent, the highest support for Mr Albanese since May.

The swing to Labor of three primary vote points to take it to 36 per cent came with no change to the Greens on 11 per cent, no change to the other minor parties at 9 per cent and a single point drop to 3 per cent for Pauline Hanson’s One Nation.

At 41 per cent, the Coalition is back to the level of support it had near the end of April.

A separate poll also showed 80 per cent of Australians support border closures if the health situation demanded it, with Victorians, who remain in stage-four lockdown, the least enthusiastic.

-with AAP