(09/21/07) -

Australias ALP Loses Ground to Coalition

(Angus Reid Global Monitor) – Australia’s main opposition party lost public backing this month while the governing coalition has strengthened its political clout, according to a Newspoll published in The Australian. 47 per cent of respondents would back the Australian Labor Party (ALP) in the next election to the House of Representatives, while 41 per cent would vote for the Coalition of Liberals and Nationals.

(Angus Reid Global Monitor) – Australia’s main opposition party lost public backing this month while the governing coalition has strengthened its political clout, according to a Newspoll published in The Australian. 47 per cent of respondents would back the Australian Labor Party (ALP) in the next election to the House of Representatives, while 41 per cent would vote for the Coalition of Liberals and Nationals.

Support for the ALP fell by four points since early September, while backing for the Coalition increased by the same margin. The Australian Greens are third with four per cent. Australia’s preferential voting system—where electors indicate an order of predilection for each contender, and the ballots from smaller parties are re-distributed—gives the ALP a 10-point lead over the Coalition.

In the October 2004 election, Australian prime minister John Howard was rewarded with a fourth term in office, as the Coalition secured 87 seats in the House of Representatives. The ALP—led by Mark Latham—elected 60 lawmakers. In December 2006, foreign affairs spokesman Kevin Rudd became the new leader of the ALP, defeating Kim Beazley in an internal caucus ballot.

Australia has endured a severe drought this year that has prompted major water-rationing strategies, which have greatly affected the country’s farmers.

On Sept. 17, Howard announced a $370 million U.S. expenditure on relief funds for farmers. Later, the prime minister acknowledged that the nation’s water supplies are at "seriously low levels" and are "deteriorating." The prime minister declared a "water shortage crisis" in the Murray-Darling Basin, where almost half of Australia’s produce is grown.

Australia is expected to hold a legislative election in October or November 2007.

Polling Data

If a federal election to the House of Representatives were held today, which one of the following would you vote for? If "Uncommitted", to which one of these do you have a leaning?

Two-Party Preferred Vote

Source: Newspoll / The Australian
Methodology: Telephone interviews with 1,124 Australian voters, conducted from Sept. 14 to Sept. 16, 2007. Margin of error is 3 per cent.