November 07, 2007

Abstract: (Angus Reid Global Monitor) - The Australian Labor Party (ALP) remains in first place ahead of a legislative ballot, according to a Newspoll published by The Australian. 47 per cent of respondents would vote for the official opposition party in this month’s election to the House of Representatives, down one point in a week.

(Angus Reid Global Monitor) - The Australian Labor Party (ALP) remains in first place ahead of a legislative ballot, according to a Newspoll published by The Australian. 47 per cent of respondents would vote for the official opposition party in this month’s election to the House of Representatives, down one point in a week.

The governing Coalition of Liberals and Nationals is second with 42 per cent, followed by the Australian Greens 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 six-point lead over the Coalition.

In the October 2004 election, Australian 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, Rudd defined himself as a progressive politician, saying, "I have always believed that I am a Labor modernizer. As a party, we are at our best when we are modernizing the country to deal with problems that may be around the corner."

A legislative election is scheduled for Nov. 24.

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. 4	Oct. 28	Oct. 21
Australian Labor Party	47%	48%	51%
Coalition (Liberal / National)	42%	42%	38%
Australian Greens	5%	4%	5%
Others	6%	6%	6%

Two-Party Preferred Vote

	Nov. 4	Oct. 28	Oct. 21
Australian Labor Party	53%	54%	58%
Coalition (Liberal / National)	47%	46%	42%

Source: Newspoll / The Australian
Methodology: Telephone interviews with 1,708 Australian voters, conducted from Nov. 2 to Nov. 4, 2007. Margin of error is 3 per cent.