Rudd’s center-left Labor government won power last November and delivered its first national budget on May 13, handing tax cuts to workers and families and penalizing the wealthy to pay for a surplus designed to rein in inflationary pressures.

But a Galaxy poll published in News Limited newspapers on Monday found only 23 percent of voters believed they would benefit from the budget, while 33 percent said they would be worse off and 44 percent were uncommitted.

“We didn’t frame the budget with our eye on opinion polls,” Treasurer Wayne Swan said on Monday, after major newspapers headlined the poll “Swan Dive.”

Rudd’s government has enjoyed strong support since last year’s election, with the polls showing government support running five points above its election showing and with Rudd’s personal approval soaring above 70 percent.

The budget, however, has angered pensioners who complained it gives them no help at a time of rising prices. The Galaxy poll found 41 percent of voters over the age of 50 believed they would be worse off.

Conservative Liberal Party leader Brendan Nelson has also attacked government decisions to raise taxes on pre-mixed alcohol drinks and to cut subsidies for people who install solar power.

Nelson used his televised budget reply speech to try to boost his personal approval rating, languishing below 10 percent, by promising to block higher taxes on pre-mixed drinks, and to cut petrol excise by 5 cents a litre if his party returns to power.

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