( Rudd can wait till November to call an election. By which time he may be ahead in the polling. He is in no hurry. We don’t wish to see another hung parliament )
Labor and Coalition neck and neck in latest Nielsen poll, Rudd leads as preferred PM
Updated 4 minutes ago
Prime Minister Kevin Rudd is continuing to brush off questions about the timing of the election, despite Labor experiencing a significant bounce in the opinion polls.
Today’s Fairfax/Nielsen poll says the two major parties each have 50 per cent of the two-party preferred vote – a seven-point gain for Labor on last month’s result.
The ALP’s primary vote has jumped 10 points to 39 per cent, while Mr Rudd leads Opposition Leader Tony Abbott as preferred prime minister 55 per cent to 41.
The Coalition’s primary vote was down three points to 44 per cent, while the Greens’ primary vote fell two points to 9 per cent.
The poll’s margin of error is 2.6 percentage points.
Last week a Newspoll, published in The Australian newspaper, also found Labor and the Coalition locked in a dead heat after preferences.
Speaking in Papua New Guinea this morning, Mr Rudd would not say whether he would call the election soon to capitalise on the results.
“[There are] a lot of challenges ahead, we’re working on them one by one,” he said.
This morning Mr Abbott told Channel 9 he always expected the polls would tighten.
“My instinct is that what they’re really doing is showing their relief at the departure of an unpopular prime minister,” he said.
Carbon tax dumped, one year early
The Nielsen poll was published after the Government confirmed it would scrap the carbon tax and move to an emissions trading scheme next year – one year earlier than originally planned.
The fixed carbon price of $24.15 a tonne will be removed in favour of a floating price, thought to be between $6 and $10 a tonne.
Families will still receive compensation packages for the carbon tax, but the Government admits cuts will have to be made in other areas to pay for the change.
Mr Rudd says decisions about where the savings will come from are still under discussion.
“It necessarily has to be budget-neutral. The key thing though with this change, it would mean that Australian families have less cost-of-living pressures and it would also mean strong action still on climate change,” he said.
Rudd in PNG for talks with O’Neill before heading to Townsville
Meanwhile, Mr Rudd is in PNG today and will meet with prime minister Peter O’Neill to discuss offshore processing.
Immigration Minister Tony Burke will attend the talks to discuss the progress on building the Manus Island detention centre.
The talks will also include trade, regional security and aid.
Mr Rudd is due to fly back to Australia today and will visit the north Queensland city of Townsville this afternoon.
Topics: federal-government, government-and-politics, alp, liberals, foreign-affairs, federal-elections, federal-election, australia, papua-new-guinea
First posted 4 hours 0 minutes ago
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abc4lnp
9:51 AM on 15/07/2013
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The plan was always to transition to an ETS which has been Labor policy for years now so the emotive headlines about dumping and scrapping are just that, childish words from junior tabloid apprentices.
The part Abbott is in denial over is that the public hate him, it’s not so much about na unpopular PM as an incredibly unpopular Opposition Leader
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wayglo
9:46 AM on 15/07/2013
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So far the new Kevin Rudd is very popular with the public he has talked a lot and criticised a lot, but just what new policies has the new Kevin come up with?
I can`t find any after all the talking and the Kevin Advertisement where Kevin talks about his vision or ideas, but no real policies or how he will change or implement the many areas he talks about in the media interviews.
Yes, I agree he has made a point of areas of concern for all of us, the economy, business confidence, unemployment, pensions, carbon tax, utilities being to high, illegal arrivals, people smugglers, industry slow down, the end of the resources boom.
But just what he will do when asked a question on any of the above, all we get is spin and vague replies or excuses like, that policy is being discussed by Cabinet so i`m not going to give my opinion as it`s cabinet decision
A couple of examples: the carbon price is on Cabinet’s agenda and the claim it will move to a cheaper trading scheme next year, can that be trusted given passed history on pre election promises by Labor and that another budget would be handed down before the so-called switch
Asylum seekers: President Yudhoyono is hosting regional conference of ministers – “I would expect it to happen within months.”
So we have a new Kevin, looks the same talks, smiles and acts the same but he`s the new Kevin we are told, and he continually Claims Tony and the Liberal have no policies
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rgg
9:34 AM on 15/07/2013
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The move to emission trading was part of Labor’s plan. It has been brought forward by one year.
Abbott’s direct action plan will be a catastrophy for tax payers. He will pay big poluters to ‘volontarily’reduce emissions and pigs might fly. He will pay them out of our taxes.
The only hope for the Liberals is to dump Abbott and install Malcolm Turnbull who at least believes in emission trading. So does John Howard. It is Howard’s policy at his last election.
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green day
9:18 AM on 15/07/2013
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Just vote Greens people… enough of these clowns in Labour. We NEED carbon tax, we NEED $50 extra for Newstart allowance, and yeah – tax those banks they’re just making themselves and everyone else working in them, rich!
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lugsmobile
9:01 AM on 15/07/2013
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Abbott is completely hopeless. Can’t answer searching questions, can’t say what he thinks without putting his foot in his mouth, lost without a slogan, not well read or fully informed on the issues he argues against.. only knows how to say no, lies constantly.
The real surprise with these poll results is how high Abbott’s ratings are… Tony is only headed in one direction… south. Bring on the Coalition leadership challenge… but who could you possibly replace him with who has any credibility and has any support within the party. The only person with some credibility (Turnbull) has no internal party support.
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billagurra
8:53 AM on 15/07/2013
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Good on you private parts. And Mr Abbott will I am sure provide all.Our debt is minscule and does not impact on you at all. We enjoy a higher standard of living than ever before in our history. Interest rates are in the basement, unemployment 5% or so, mining companies making billions, gas royalties exploding, what is your problem, you want more?
Get real and stop catatrophising a great state of wealth and opportunity.
The pain is in your head!!
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scupundi
8:37 AM on 15/07/2013
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The PM said it was the greatest moral challenge of our time. The former PM introduced the carbon tax when she totally ruled out introducing one before the election. The ALP has been banging the table for the last 2years telling us why we needed a carbon tax.
Now on election eve when they know the carbon tax is just a gratuitous tax that does nothing they scrap it. What a joke!
The ALP stand for nothing other than getting elected.
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gbe
8:24 AM on 15/07/2013
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As the saying goes you get the government you deserve and it looks like Rudd’s all noise do nothing scatter gun style of Government is all Australia deserves.
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private parts
8:04 AM on 15/07/2013
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The electorate clearly want some more Labor pain but why is beyond me. In just 6 years the country has incurred a massive debt creating $22 million a day in interest alone. By any measure Labor is dysfunctional and incompetent and all this from a Labor voter. I want a better Australia for my children and grand children and all I got was mismanagement and waste from labor.
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bob jones
6:59 AM on 15/07/2013
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Of course they are neck and neck. Gillard’s gone and Queenslanders love Kevin. After watching Abbott’s new ads last night it is apparent he hasn’t learnt anything about negativity being the reason his popularity is so low. If he was the only one contesting this election I’d pay a fine!
Australians are starting to wake up to the fact that his smear campaign of the last 3 years has destroyed consumer confidence. How is he worthy of being our PM? A prime minister is suppose to love their country, not hold it back. It’s one thing to hold a government to account in opposition but he has way overstepped the mark. Rudd’s proposed ETS is now cheaper than Abbott’s proposal so that merely exposes his advert against it a lie and most Australians want the monopoly for Telstra to end and support the ALP’s broadband .
Sorry Tony but I’m prepared to risk another 3 years on the ALP.
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