LABOR'S execution of Kevin Rudd appears to be paying dividends.
The government has hit the front at the start of a lightning election campaign that ends on August 21.

Julia Gillard is also scoring off Tony Abbott personally and repairing the government's weak spots on asylum-seekers and climate change.

The first Newspoll survey taken since the Prime Minister called the election on Saturday reveals Coalition support has dropped while Labor's primary vote has held steady at 42 per cent to the opposition's 38 per cent.

It's the first time Labor has been ahead on primary vote since April.

Based on preference flows at the last election, Labor has opened a 10-point lead of 55 to the Coalition's 45 per cent. Labor would be easily returned if that two-party-preferred result were repeated uniformly on August 21, and it would be a stronger result than the 2007 victory.

the alps getting the sexist vote.


vegi - why does abbott scare you ?

Alas! Politics is such a cynical business: I see that the Labs are preferring to quote the less definitive polls - perhaps because Newspoll and the Oz seem so keen to attribute 'underdog' status to their preferred PM, attack-dog Abbott...!?

Quote:


Really? please explain?

Just in....

The Greens have confirmed that they have struck a preferences deal with Labor, which will affect the Senate and some key House of Representatives seats in the upcoming federal election.

It is understood the deal involves more than 50 key Lower House seats.

The deal means Labor will direct its Senate preferences to the Greens, while the Greens will direct preferences to the ALP in the Lower House seats.

But it is not yet known which seats will be affected.

The deal is likely to help the Greens secure the balance of power in the Senate and may get Labor over the line in some key marginal seats.

More at ABC online

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Sprintcyclist wrote on Jul 19^th, 2010 at 10:54am:


Please are you serious???
Can you point to any left leaning policies announced by Abbott.
Oh that's right they have not told us any except for increasing corporate tax to fund women's maturnity leave.
But that was a promise from opposition, I'm sure if government is obtained it will become too hard/expensive to go ahead.
Please don't take this as me supporting Labor, as far as I'm concerned they are just as bad, at time of writting I'm thinking Greens
1st pref Aus Dems(are they still around?)
2nd Mary jane party
3rd 4x4/fishing party
4th lib
5th lab

I even shake my head at myself reading that, being someone who is interested and actually enjoys politics.
Shows what a sh!thouse choice we have this time around.

Quote:



What Abbott said was sometimes in the heat of battle you take things too far.

Much like Gillard claiming at the miners only paid 13% tax, based on a US uni students report, a report where the findings were canned because the sample size was too small, the same report that didnt include one Oz mining company.

Abbott was honest in his answer, and it is true, how many times have pollies in the heat of debate taken things too far, yet you have the hide to call Abbott a liar.

Try this one instead - "There is more chance of me playing full forward for the bulldogs than challanging for the Prime Minstership."

TONY Abbott has staked out his first campaign battleground, claiming $47 billion in spending cuts he is promising would lead to lower interest rates and help families with the cost of living.
But Julia Gillard immediately retorted that the Opposition Leader was mimicking John Howard's 2004 promise "Who do you trust to keep interest rates low?" which preceded six rate rises.

"Haven't we heard this from the Liberal Party before and does everyone remember what happened afterwards?" Ms Gillard said in Brisbane.

"Gee whiz, Tony Abbott must think everybody in Australia was born yesterday."

Mr Abbott visited the five-bedroom home of a friend of the new state Liberal MP for Penrith to open his campaign, claiming his government would introduce policies to enable the Reserve Bank to lower rates.

Mr Abbott offered no new policy on his first day on the trail, except to reaffirm a government under him would make swingeing cuts.







Further interest rate rises are INEVITABLE - no matter who is in government
A move away from artificial, emergency lows indicates a further recovery from GFC effects

I'll be interested to see how the "we will keep interest rates low" encore will play out in the next polling of the electorate

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