(12/13/06) -

Rudd Revitalizes Australian Labor Party

- The opposition Australian Labor Party (ALP) is the clear leader in the country’s federal political scene, according to a Newspoll published in The Australian. 46 per cent of respondents would vote for the ALP in the next legislative election, while 39 per cent would support the governing Coalition of Liberals and Nationals.

- The opposition Australian Labor Party (ALP) is the clear leader in the country’s federal political scene, according to a Newspoll published in The Australian. 46 per cent of respondents would vote for the ALP in the next legislative election, while 39 per cent would support the governing Coalition of Liberals and Nationals.

The Australian Greens are third with five 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.

In the October 2004 election, 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. On Dec. 4, foreign affairs spokesman Kevin Rudd became the new leader of the ALP, defeating Kim Beazley in an internal caucus ballot.

Earlier this month, Rudd launched a 10-day “listening tour” around the country. The new ALP leader has said he would promote regional gatherings if he were to form the next government, because “it is time to get those bureaucrats out of Canberra.”

The next legislative election is tentatively scheduled for late 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?