Major parties deserted for independents: Newspoll
September 13, 2010 11:23PM
VOTERS have validated the decision of the independent MPs to back Labor to form a minority government, although the ALP's primary vote has fallen to a five-year low and an election held now would be likely to deliver another hung parliament.
While
more voters, 48 to 36 per cent, agreed with the formation of a minority Labor government, a clear majority, 59 to 31 per cent, believe the government will not serve a full term and Australia will return to the polls before the three years agreed between Labor and the independents.
At 34 per cent, down four percentage points since the August 21 election, Labor's primary vote under the newly elected Julia Gillard is below the level of Kevin Rudd's entire leadership and back to what it was under Kim Beazley in September 2005.
Primary vote support for both the Coalition and Labor has dropped since the election, while backing for the Greens and "other" candidates has surged in the three weeks of independents' haggling over the hung parliament
According to the latest Newspoll survey conducted exclusively for The Australian,
Labor's primary vote has gone from 38 per cent at the election to 34 per cent last weekend and the Coalition's primary vote fell from 43.6 per cent at the election to 41 per cent.With the Greens and independent MPs in the political spotlight, the primary vote for both the Greens and "others" rose from the election-day vote of 11.8 per cent to 14 per cent and 6.6 per cent to 11 per cent respectively.
After a knife-edge election result on two-party-preferred terms of 50.1 per cent to Labor and 49.9 per cent to the Coalition,
the two-party-preferred result last weekend was dead even at 50-50.http://www.theaustralian.com.au/national-affairs/major-parties-deserted-for-inde...So much for the $320 million 'let's go back to the polls' whim
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