Federal Election: Peter Dutton’s high level of distrust set to derail Coalition hopes of forming Government
Conventional wisdom tells us that elections are all about trust, but in 2025, it’s different.
For the first time in our history, Australians are more driven by who and what they DISTRUST rather than who they TRUST. Voters aren’t looking for the headland speech or the next charismatic leader — they’re looking for the safest option in a climate of anxiety and scepticism.
Distrust is not an absence of trust – that’s just NO TRUST. Distrust is a very different and a much more dangerous beast. Its trajectory runs from doubt to suspicion, anxiety, fear, and ultimately, self-protection. Sound familiar? It could be a map of our national psyche, and Australia’s levels of distrust have never been higher.
Reserve a spot here for the webinar ‘The Role of Trust and Distrust in the 2025 Federal Election’ presented by Roy Morgan CEO Michele Levine on Tuesday April 29, 2025 @ 11am.
Roy Morgan CEO Michele Levine explains who Australia’s most trusted politicians are:
“At the last Federal Election in 2022, Labor Senator Penny Wong was Australia’s most trusted politician, with Labor Leader Anthony Albanese a close second. However, at this election, Wong is no longer on the Most Trusted Politician list. In fact, she’s dropped out of trusted territory entirely.
“Independent ACT Senator David Pocock has replaced Wong in the top spot, followed by Tasmanian Senator Jacqui Lambie, up from fifth place at the last election.” said Levine.
Political Leaders with the Highest Net Trust Scores – March 2022 cf. April 2025
Source: Roy Morgan Snap SMS Survey; February 28-March 1, 2022. Source: Roy Morgan Snap Online Survey March 28-April 2, 2025. Base: Australians aged 18+. n=1,409 (2022 survey), n=1,014 (2025 survey). Note: Political Leaders with minimum of 20 unaided mentions. Net Trust Scores are calculated by subtracting distrust scores from trust scores
Interestingly, at the last election in May 2022, the top three most trusted politicians were all federal Labor ministers. But three years later, there are no Labor ministers in the top five. Nor are there any Coalition ministers, for that matter.
So, why do Australians trust David Pocock and Jacqui Lambie?
Senators Pocock and Lambie both have far lower levels of Distrust than other ‘trusted politicians’
Both Independent ACT Senator David Pocock and Tasmanian Senator Jacqui Lambie record almost no distrust at all. Other trusted politicians record some distrust but trust still outweighs distrust.
ACT Senator David Pocock is seen as a genuine politician with a willingness to listen and learn
Independent ACT Senator David Pocock is seen as a genuine, principled, and articulate politician who listens to his constituents, champions the vulnerable and the environment, prioritises the national good over corporate interests, and approaches politics with humility and a willingness to learn.
Tasmanian Senator Jacqui Lambie is regarded as straight-talking, honest and authentic
Australians trust Independent Tasmanian Senator Jacqui Lambie because she’s seen as a straight-talking, honest, and empathetic representative who speaks from lived experience, stands up for everyday Australians and veterans, and brings authenticity, integrity, and a no-nonsense approach to politics. “Crude but honest,” as one respondent quipped.
Politicians with the Highest Net Trust Scores – April 2025
Source: Roy Morgan Snap Online Survey March 28-April 2, 2025. Base: Australians aged 18+, n=1,014 (2025 survey).
Note: Political Leaders with minimum of 20 unaided mentions. Net Trust Scores are calculated by subtracting distrust scores from trust scores.
Prime Minister Anthony Albanese and Opposition Leader Peter Dutton both have Net Distrust Scores
“Neither Prime Anthony Albanese nor Opposition Leader Peter Dutton are in positive trust territory. The task for each is not to inspire — but to minimise alarm.
“The Federal Election result will be heavily influenced by which candidate for the top job is the LEAST DISTRUSTED. So, looking at our political leaders, who is trusted and who is distrusted?” said Roy Morgan CEO Michele Levine.
At the last election, Clive Palmer (now the lead funder of the new ‘Trumpets of Patriots’ party) was the most distrusted figure in Australian politics - but he wasn’t a Member of Parliament in 2022, so that made former Prime Minister Scott Morrison the most distrusted Parliamentarian, just ahead of Peter Dutton.
Political Leaders with the Highest Net Distrust Scores – March 2022 cf. April 2025
Source: Roy Morgan Snap SMS Survey; February 28-March 1, 2022. Source: Roy Morgan Snap Online Survey March 28-April 2, 2025. Base: Australians aged 18+. n=1,409 (2022 survey), n=1,014 (2025 survey). Note: Political Leaders with minimum of 20 unaided mentions. Net Trust Scores are calculated by subtracting distrust scores from trust scores.
Opposition Leader Peter Dutton is 220% more distrusted than Prime Minister Anthony Albanese
At this election, Peter Dutton has moved up to become the most distrusted politician in Australia, ahead of Clive Palmer and even ahead of US President Donald Trump. While not an Australian politician, Donald Trump had enough respondents nominate him as a distrusted political leader to put him on the list.
An interesting insight is that at the last election, there were no Labor politicians on the top ten most distrusted list. This year, there are three: Prime Minister Anthony Albanese, Minister for Climate Change and Energy Chris Bowen, and Victorian Premier Jacinta Allan.
Anthony Albanese, who is also more distrusted than trusted, has a far better standing than Peter Dutton. Viewed through the Net Distrust Score lens, Dutton is 220% more distrusted than Albanese.
Politicians with the Highest Net Distrust Scores – April 2025
Source: Roy Morgan Snap Online Survey March 28-April 2, 2025. Base: Australians aged 18+, n=1,014 (2025 survey).
Note: Political Leaders with minimum of 20 unaided mentions. Net Trust Scores are calculated by subtracting distrust scores from trust scores.
Roy Morgan CEO Michele Levine says that distrust is at ‘dangerously high levels’ for Opposition Leader Peter Dutton ahead of next week’s Federal Election – and already over 1.1 million Australians have voted after only two days of early voting:
“Roy Morgan’s special survey on trust and distrust in the lead-up to the Federal Election shows that Coalition Leader Peter Dutton has the unwanted, and extremely unhelpful, distinction of being Australia’s most distrusted politician – by a significant margin.
“Dutton’s high level of distrust is such that the Opposition Leader is 220% more distrusted than Prime Minister Anthony Albanese – who also faces his own challenges. Albanese has a higher level of distrust than trust, but his net distrust is low compared to his rival.
“The latest Roy Morgan Poll released earlier this week shows the impact these enduring, and high, levels of distrust have had – the ALP on 55.5% now leads the L-NP Coalition on 44.5% on a two-party preferred basis – an election winning lead.”
Reserve a ticket here for the webinar ‘The Role of Trust and Distrust in the 2025 Federal Election’ presented by Roy Morgan CEO Michele Levine on Tuesday April 29, 2025 @ 11am.
The latest Risk Report ranking over 200 brands on Net Trust or Net Distrust Scores is available here.
The Roy Morgan Risk Monitor surveys approximately 2,000 Australians every month (around 25,000 per year) to measure levels of trust and distrust of around 1,000 brands across 27 industries. Respondents are asked which brands they trust, and why, and which brands they distrust, and why. The survey is designed to be open-ended, context-free, and unprompted.
Roy Morgan Risk Monitor data is available in a variety of formats, from snapshot overviews to detailed tracking of individual brands and competitors. Industry Trust and Distrust Surveys are also conducted (e.g. Politics, Telco, Utilities, Insurance, Banking, Agribusiness, Media, Retail, etc.) for deeper insights into perceptions of, and experience with brands.
To learn more call (+61) (3) 9224 5309 or email askroymorgan@roymorgan.com.
About Roy Morgan
Roy Morgan is the source of the most comprehensive data on Australians’ behaviour and attitudes, surveying over 1,000 people weekly in a continuous cycle that has been running for two decades. The company has more than 80 years’ experience collecting objective, independent information.
Margin of Error
The margin of error to be allowed for in any estimate depends mainly on the number of interviews on which it is based. Margin of error gives indications of the likely range within which estimates would be 95% likely to fall, expressed as the number of percentage points above or below the actual estimate. Allowance for design effects (such as stratification and weighting) should be made as appropriate.
| Sample Size | Percentage Estimate |
| 40% – 60% | 25% or 75% | 10% or 90% | 5% or 95% | |
| 1,000 | ±3.0 | ±2.7 | ±1.9 | ±1.3 |
| 5,000 | ±1.4 | ±1.2 | ±0.8 | ±0.6 |
| 7,500 | ±1.1 | ±1.0 | ±0.7 | ±0.5 |
| 10,000 | ±1.0 | ±0.9 | ±0.6 | ±0.4 |
| 20,000 | ±0.7 | ±0.6 | ±0.4 | ±0.3 |
| 50,000 | ±0.4 | ±0.4 | ±0.3 | ±0.2 |
