Australian opposition leader Tony Abbott has overtaken Kevin Rudd as the nation's preferred prime minister, a new poll has found.
Abbott has overtaken for the first time in their four-year rivalry as support for Labor fell to its lowest since Julia Gillard was removed, the poll found.
The latest Newspoll showed that Abbott has surpassed Rudd as preferred Prime Minister for the first time since his return to the top job.
Nearly 43 percent of respondents supported Abbott as compared to 41 percent who supported Rudd, news.com.au reports.
A defiant Rudd continued to play the underdog card while convincing voters that Abbott was not capable of doing much for the country, as the latest opinion poll showed Abbott is the preferred Prime Minister among Australians.
The poll showed that Labor's primary vote had plummeted to 33 percent, the lowest with Rudd as leader, and the Coalition was ahead 54-46 on the two-party preferred vote.