(Angus Reid Global Monitor) – The Australian Labor Party (ALP) remains the dominant force in the country’s political scene, according to a poll by Newspoll published in The Australian. 44 per cent of respondents would support the ALP in the next election to the House of Representatives.
(Angus Reid Global Monitor) – The Australian Labor Party (ALP) remains the dominant force in the country’s political scene, according to a poll by Newspoll published in The Australian. 44 per cent of respondents would support the ALP in the next election to the House of Representatives.
The Coalition of Liberals and Nationals is second with 38 per cent. The Australian Greens are next with nine 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 ten-point lead over the Coalition.
Australia held a federal election in November 2007. Final results gave the ALP 85 seats in the 150-member House of Representatives. ALP leader Kevin Rudd was officially sworn in as prime minister in December, bringing an end to the 11-year tenure of Liberal leader John Howard as head of Australia’s government.
Howard failed to retain his seat in the Bennelong constituency and stepped down as Liberal leader. Brendan Nelson—a former defence minister—defeated former environment minister Malcolm Turnbull in an internal leadership ballot by just three votes. On Sept. 16, Turnbull won a new internal leadership race, edging Nelson by four votes.
On Nov. 15, Rudd discussed the global financial crisis, saying, "We as a government remain prepared to take whatever additional and further action that is necessary to support growth and jobs. We don’t rule anything out for the future. Globally, we need to see concerted cooperative action by as many governments as possible around the world by using their budgets and monetary policy to support growth into the future."
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?
|
Nov. 9 |
Oct. 26 |
Oct. 12 |
|
|
Australian Labor Party |
44% |
44% |
41% |
|
Coalition (Liberal / National) |
38% |
39% |
38% |
|
Australian Greens |
9% |
9% |
13% |
|
Others |
9% |
8% |
8% |
Two-Party Preferred Vote
|
Nov. 9 |
Oct. 26 |
Oct. 12 |
|
|
Australian Labor Party |
55% |
54% |
55% |
|
Coalition (Liberal / National) |
45% |
46% |
45% |
Source: Newspoll / The Australian
Methodology: Telephone interviews with 1,146 Australian voters, conducted from Nov. 7 to Nov. 9, 2008. Margin of error is 3 per cent.
