Tony Abbott has accused independent rivals for his Sydney seat of Warringah of being too negative, as a poll shows he's at risk of losing to Olympian Zali Steggal.
Independent candidate Ms Steggall, a former professional alpine skier turned barrister, is leading the former prime minister 54-to-46 per cent on a two-party preferred basis.
That's according to a ReachTEL poll commissioned by activist group GetUp and published in the Sunday Herald and The Sunday Age.
In the poll, 60 per cent of the residents canvassed rated Mr Abbott's performance as a local member as "poor".
Of those who voted for him previously, 78 per cent said they would vote for someone else.
The finding comes as GetUp is campaigning to oust Mr Abbott from the Sydney Northern Beaches seat he has held for 25 years.
Former Malcolm Turnbull staffer Alice Thompson had also been planning to run as an independent but recently bowed out of the race to boost Ms Steggal's chances.
But Mr Abbott says the group is too negative.
"These people just can't help themselves," he told the Sydney Morning Herald and The Age.
"They are all negative. They don't know what they're for, but by God, they know what they're against."
