Tuesday, July 04, 2006

That's not a poll, This is a poll

It seems last week's poll and commentary were premature; Labor is now trouncing the Tories:

Opposition Leader Kim Beazley has received a significant boost as he battles the Government's industrial relations laws, with Labor surging to 53 per cent support on a two-party preferred basis.

In a big shift in voter sentiment, the Coalition's primary vote has slumped to 40 per cent while Labor's has jumped to 41per cent and satisfaction with the way Mr Howard is doing his job has dropped to its lowest rating in eight months.

As Coalition MPs contemplate a possible leadership change later this year, the Prime Minister's approval rating has taken a nosedive. Just days after returning from his latest overseas trip, more voters now disapprove of Mr Howard's performance than praise his work -- the first time he has hit negative ratings since February.

I wonder how the Australian's pundits, eager to please their ultimate boss with their anti-worker drivel last time around, deal with this dose of reality.

Dennis, do you have anything to say??

Howard's battlers may not be latte swaffing university lecturers, but they aren't long black skolling 6 figure income pocketing editors and bloggers-with-credit-cards either.

5 comments:

cristy said...

Woohoo!
That's great news.

Anonymous said...

I can't help being sceptical about polling results this far out from the election, but I guess this is better news than if the polls were showing a swing to the government! :)

TimT said...

I'm sceptical about polls anyway, I don't think they reflect changes in public opinion or in government policy accurately.

Perhaps the Labor policy on industrial relations is having an effect ... but I doubt it. From what I can see, Beazley is simply using exaggerated rhetoric to appear different to the Howard Government.

Scrap AWAs altogether? I can't believe that Labor would do that: that would simply alienate many small business voters, and the workers who currently benefit from AWAs.
'Rip up' the federal governments industrial relations law? This is a meaningless phrase; Beazley is repeating it ad nauseum because it sounds catchy; and there's every chance that Labor, if they get in power, will allow many of the industrial relations laws to stay in place.

In other words, I think that the Labor policy as regards industrial relations is fundamentally dishonest. It reflects desperation rather than principle. There are questionable aspects to Howard Government policy on industrial relations, but I don't think the Opposition reaction to it is intelligent or practical.

Anyway, we'll see how the public react to it come election time!

JahTeh said...

It sounds as though someone has discovered a cure for bulldust disease.

Anonymous said...

Don't get too excited. The poll's just a knee-jerk reaction from jerks' knees. All that matters is the election poll and that's when Howard's battlers - however you wish to define them - will make their voices heard: the time when the silent majority finds its voice.