(Angus Reid Global Monitor) - Australia’s governing party is still riding a wave of popularity, according to a Newspoll published in The Australian. 46 per cent of respondents would vote for the Australian Labor Party (ALP) in the next election to the House of Representatives, unchanged since late January.

The Coalition of Liberals and Nationals is second with 36 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 14-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 Feb. 21, Rudd expressed unease over alcohol abuse in Australia, saying, "I am concerned about what I would describe as an epidemic of binge drinking across the country. (…) I think it’s not good. It’s starting to get somewhat out of hand." Rudd called for action and said he is analyzing the situation with health minister Nicola Roxon, adding, "I think we’ve got to sit down with (regional) governments and work out an appropriate response."

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?

Source: Newspoll / The Australian
Methodology: Telephone interviews with 1,140 Australian voters, conducted from Feb. 15 to Feb. 17, 2008. Margin of error is 3 per cent.

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