Australian opposition opens up big election-winning lead, new poll shows

SYDNEY, (AFP) - Australian Prime Minister John Howard's government has slipped further behind the Labor opposition despite a big-spending budget aimed at luring back voters in the run-up to this year's election, according to a new poll.


The Australian's Newspoll was the second survey this week to show the government's support has fallen in the aftermath of last Tuesday's budget promising record spending of more than 37 billion dollars (25 billion US) in tax cuts and family benefits.


The well-respected Newspoll showed that although the budget was well received, with 50 percent of voters seeing it as positive for the economy, Labor opened up a bigger lead over Howard's conservative Liberal-National coalition.

For the first time since early April, the poll, based on 1,145 interviews and conducted last weekend, gave Labor a clear lead in its primary vote, which was up two percentage points to 44 percent in a fortnight, while the coalition slipped one point to 41 percent.

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http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&cid=1530&e=3&u=/afp/australia_politics_poll

(another bush sycophant about to bite the dust?)

It's just the earliest date he could call an election after the budget reforms go through Parliament. I think the latest an election can be held is late November, but I'm not really sure....

Violet...

:hi:

I've never voted Liberal and never will, but if Howard would get himself out of Bush's arse for five seconds, I'd thank him for the tax cuts and the family benefit carrots he dangled in front of us all. Fat lot of good it's going to do him....

Violet...

primarily over tax cuts. My dad will profit quite handsomely from them but thinks the government should use them for services. "The Premiers are all crying out, 'put the money into health and education! Put the money into health and education', but they just want to give it back in tax cuts. It's stupid," is what he said.

He's now voting for Labor in this election.

our moronic fraud of an Emperor is an idiot! Bush has the reverse Midas touch - everything he touches turns to shit. At least this gives me a lightened heart that other people, in other countries, are rational and sane and will take back their countries from the neoconnazis. I don't have the same hope for Amerika, though.

:evilgrin: :evilgrin: :evilgrin: :evilgrin: :evilgrin: :evilgrin:

Everything and everyone Bush touches fails.

This is a four-point lead, if I'm reading correctly, which isn't very big. I certainly hope that the right gets buried by a larger margin than that. Best of luck to Labor!