The latest Newspoll has the two-party vote at 50-50, after an anomalous 52-48 in Labor’s favour a fortnight ago. Labor has 34 per cent of the vote, the Coalition 41 per cent and the Greens 14 per cent. More to follow.
UPDATE: Full Newspoll results here. The Labor lead from a fortnight ago may have proved ephemeral, but the improvement in Julia Gillard’s personal ratings has mostly stuck: her approval is down a point to 45 per cent and her disapproval up one to 38 per cent, while her lead as preferred prime minister has narrowed slightly from 54-31 to 52-32. Tony Abbott’s approval is steady on 42 per cent and his disapproval is down two to 43 per cent. On climate change, scepticism is found to have fallen since February but rise since July 2009, belief having gone from 84 per cent to 73 per cent to 77 per cent and non-belief from 12 per cent to 22 per cent to 18 per cent. When it was put to respondents that the federal government’s carbon pricing plans could lead to higher energy costs, 47 per cent said they remained in favour while 49 per cent were against.
Some bedtime thoughts from George Megalogenis in Quarterly Essay:
I know I’m whistling in the wind, but wouldn’t it be nice if Newspoll were to go back to one poll per month? The Australian’s survey of federal voting intensions went fortnightly in 1992 and Newspoll made its reputation in the following year’s election by picking the late swing to Labor. Don’t change what works, right? Unfortunately, two Newspolls per month throughout a term provide too much temptation for mischief. Every half-smart backbencher can pull together a spreadsheet to show why their boss should be rolled. Lobby groups just have to wait for a couple of bad polls before they put the squeeze on government.
It may be coincidence, of course, but there has been a dizzying turnover of political leadership talent since Newspoll went fortnightly. The Liberals were the first Opposition to have three leaders in a term between 1993 and 1996. The man in the middle, Alexander Downer, was the first major-party leader not to contest a federal election. On the Labor side, Simon Crean was pulled down at the end of 2003, before he could face the people in the follwing year. Labor also had three leaders between 2004 and 2007. But these were mere dress rehearsals for the chaos of the past three years, when a first-term government had two prime ministers and a first-term Opposition had three leaders. The trend is clearly accelerating.
Space kidette
If there was no Iraq war, the same people would be complaining about our government standing by and doing nothing in Iraq, when Saddam had killed hundreds of thousands of Kurds and then started on the Sunni muslims
Some people do not have job, have lots of times on their hands … who believes in conspiracy theories
ABC
[The rally coincides with International Human Rights Day.
Former Democrats Senator and Greens candidate Andrew Bartlett told the rally the Australian public needs to send a strong message to governments all over the world about what they say is the persecution of Julian Assange.]
I don’t think the rally is connected with deception over the WMD. It’s for free speech in general.
First Ireland, now this: trebling uni fees to pay off reckless bankers’ debts?
When did Western government become such a naked protection racket? http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-11952449
David
are you able to tell us with McClelland is saying?
oops – what
New thread.