Turns out Newspoll published its first survey of Western Australian state voting intention in a year on Thursday without me noticing – thanks to Ghost Who Votes in comments for drawing my attention to it. The poll shows the Liberal-National government with what by first term standards is a fairly modest two-party lead of 53-47, from primary votes of 40 per cent for the Liberals, 5 per cent for the Nationals and 37 per cent for Labor, with the Greens little changed from the 2008 election on 11 per cent. Both leaders’ personal ratings have declined over the past year: Colin Barnett’s approval rating is down five points to 51 per cent and his disapproval up nine to 34 per cent, while Eric Ripper is respectively down two to 33 per cent and up nine to 43 per cent. Barnett’s lead as preferred premier has narrowed slightly from 60-14 to 58-19.
