(Angus Reid Global Monitor) – The governing Australian Labor Party (ALP) maintains a high level of public backing in the country, according to a poll by Newspoll published in The Australian. 43 per cent of respondents would support the ALP in the next election to the House of Representatives.
(Angus Reid Global Monitor) – The governing Australian Labor Party (ALP) maintains a high level of public backing in the country, according to a poll by Newspoll published in The Australian. 43 per cent of respondents would support the ALP in the next election to the House of Representatives.
The Coalition of Liberals and National is second with 38 per cent, followed by the Australian Greens with 10 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.
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. In September 2008, Turnbull won a new internal leadership race, edging Nelson by four votes.
Yesterday, John Faulkner became Australia’s new defence minister, replacing Joel Fitzgibbon. Rudd described Faulkner as "a man of unquestionable integrity and strength of character," adding, "[He] has a tough job ahead of him and that is to implement the reforms outlined in the Defense White Paper carefully crafted by Joel Fitzgibbon when he was minister."
Fitzgibbon tendered his resignation after violating the government’s code of conduct when he allowed his brother Mark—the chief executive of health insure NIB Holdings Ltd.—to use his office for a business meeting. In March, Fitzgibbon acknowledged that he "accepted a sponsored travel to China" paid for by businesswoman Helen Liu, and offered an apology.
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?
|
May 31 |
May 17 |
May 3 |
|
|
Australian Labor Party |
43% |
46% |
42% |
|
Coalition (Liberal / National) |
38% |
37% |
38% |
|
Australian Greens |
10% |
9% |
11% |
|
Others |
9% |
8% |
9% |
Two-Party Preferred Vote
|
May 31 |
May 17 |
May 3 |
|
|
Australian Labor Party |
55% |
56% |
55% |
|
Coalition (Liberal / National) |
45% |
44% |
45% |
Source: Newspoll / The Australian
Methodology: Telephone interviews with 1,153 Australian voters, conducted from May 29 to May 31, 2009. Margin of error is 3 per cent.
