The Sunday Age has again seen fit to commission Taverner to conduct a poll of New South Wales and Victorian voters only, having last conducted such an exercise immediately after the May budget. This time the sample is even lower – 605 rather than 911 – and the results are very strange indeed, with both major parties taking a big hit on the primary vote. Labor are down 5 per cent from May to 39 per cent, while the Coalition are down 2 per cent to 38. The Greens have soaked up 4 per cent of the remainder to reach 11, but the destination of the remaining 3 per cent is unclear (it did not go to the Democrats, who are stuck on 2 per cent). There may be an element of truth in Labor having lost at least some ground to the Greens but the rest is hard to credit. Meanwhile, Glenn Milne in Sunday Telegraph rates Malcolm Turnbull’s candid comments on Iraq as the clincher for the Prime Minister holding back on a September 18 election (which can be announced no later than tomorrow).
