(Angus Reid Global Monitor) - Public backing for the opposition Australian Labor Party (ALP) increased this month, according to a Newspoll published in The Australian. 47 per cent of respondents would vote for the ALP in the next legislative election, while 38 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 12-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. In December 2006, foreign affairs spokesman Kevin Rudd became the new leader of the ALP, defeating Kim Beazley in an internal caucus ballot.

Yesterday, Howard dismissed the suggestion that global warming and greenhouse gases are tied, saying, "The jury is still out on the degree of connection." Rudd expressed dismay, declaring, "The message out of the government, this Question Time, at the beginning of 2007 leaves most of us gobsmacked. Here we have the citadel of scepticism when it comes to climate change."

The next legislative election is tentatively scheduled for late 2007.

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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?

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