Andrew Barr is far better placed than Opposition Leader Jeremy Hanson to handle Canberra's economy for working people, according to a new union-commissioned poll.
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The Unions ACT-commissioned ReachTEL poll conducted on the night of December 10 found an increasing number of people thought the territory was heading in the right direction, at 49.8 per cent.
When asked who they "most trust to handle Canberra's economy for working people", 46.7 per cent of respondents said Mr Barr and Labor, compared with 26.9 per cent who said Mr Hanson and the Liberals.
In a concerning sign for the opposition, 26.4 per cent said "someone else".
The automated poll of 1403 respondents across the ACT was conducted before the federal government released its mid-year budget update and before Mr Barr announced the territory's budget deficit had worsened by $71 million to $479 million.
The poll has a margin of error of 2.61 per cent. Unions ACT secretary Alex White would not release the full findings report.
When respondents were asked, generally speaking "do you believe the ACT is heading in the right or the wrong direction", 49.8 per cent said the right direction, 33 per cent said the wrong direction and 17.2 per cent were undecided.
In May, a similar Unions ACT poll found 46.5 per cent thought the ACT was heading in the right direction, showing a 3.3 per cent rise in the recent figures. Then 36.2 per cent said the ACT was heading in the wrong direction and 17.3 were undecided.
Mr White said the results showed Mr Hanson's message on the government's light rail project was not resonating with the public. He accused the Liberals of "union-bashing" and negativity.
"Most people in Canberra are working people and we know that when you ask them about the economy they think about it in two different ways: the economy that works in their interest, as opposed to how most people think of the economy in the abstract.
"Jeremy Hanson has got to very quickly come up with some actual policies. Based on this poll, Jeremy Hanson would have a humiliating defeat next year."
Mr Hanson said the poll was "a poll designed deliberately to push ACT Labor's agenda."
"Despite this, the majority of respondents are either concerned or unsure about Canberra's future," he said.
"The reality is at the next election, the decision Canberrans will face is whether they want Andrew Barr to build light rail and whether they want him to continue tripling rates to pay for it. In this poll, given less than half of respondents think we are going in the right direction, I again call on Andrew Barr to take light rail to the election."
Previously released results from the polling showed 53.9 per cent of ACT residents were opposed to any increase to the GST, compared with 25.4 per cent who support an increase from 10 to 15 per cent.
Of Labor voters, 57.8 per cent were opposed to the plan being considered by state and federal treasurers, compared with 44 per cent of Liberal voters who opposed an increase.
