Julia Gillard has not been able to give voters a sense of who she is beyond the woman who knifed Kevin Rudd.
Labor
Pobje: Why does everybody think Labor is knackered?
Labor is getting thumped by the media and in the polls, but when it comes to complex issues and long term reform people should be patient. A humane carbon-neutral country is in the mail, writes Ben Pobje.
Crikey Says: Splitting climate change on party lines
One of the striking elements about the public’s belief in climate change that emerges from today’s Essential Report findings is its highly politicised nature.
Guy Rundle: Faulkner’s Seinfeld moment — it’s all about nothing
John Faulkner’s Wran oration — described as the “speech of his life” — is, in fact, his Seinfeld moment: it is a speech about nothing. Labor’s problems go much deeper.
Why is the federal government always in such a hurry?
One feature of this federal government is that it is always in a hurry. There is no patience to wait until everything is in order before making an announcement. Slow down! says Richard Farmer.
In politics, impressions are paramount
Julia Gillard obviously reasoned that she could burn her base without consequence but what she forgot, and what the Labor party had better remember very soon, is that modern politics is largely about impressions, writes Jeremy Sear.
Labor is losing middle Australia
The voters of middle Australia have turned on Labor, Essential Report has shown.
Crikey Says: The magic S word
Today Bernard Keane writes of a time when politicians treated voters like they actually had half a brain …
Newspoll: 51-49 to Labor
The latest Newspoll result shows a big surprise rebound for Labor after a string of poor polls. A 54-46 deficit recorded in the wake of the carbon tax announcement has been reversed to a 51-49 two-party preferred Labor lead, reports William Bowe.
Galaxy: 64-36 to Coalition in NSW
The latest Galaxy poll for New South Wales has the Coalition on 50 percent of the primary vote, down a point on the previous poll, with Labor up three to 23 percent, leveling out to 64-36 two-party preferred, writes William Bowe.
Essential: 52-48 to Coalition
The week’s Essential finds Labor copping a forceful backlash from the carbon tax, with the two-party vote flipping from 51-49 in favour of Labor to 52-48 in favour of the Coalition, writes William Bowe.
Morgan: 53-47 to Coalition phone poll; 51-49 to Labor face-to-face
Roy Morgan has published two sets of poll results, one a face-to-face poll combining a fortnight’s worth of its regular weekend polling, the other a small sample phone poll targeting 519 respondents, writes William Bowe.
Gillard, Greens unveil fixed carbon price
The Greens’ proposal to adopt an initial fixed carbon price from July 1, 2012 has been adopted by the government — but not necessarily by the cross-benches.
Essential: Labor edges up, but voters rate Rudd as PM …
Labor has edged ahead in today’s Essential report poll - but Julia Gillard doesn’t compare favourably to her predecessor.
Abbott buggered up his anti-flood levy campaign
By taking an unpopular decision on the flood levy, Labor appears to have wrongfooted Tony Abbott.
Miners big on donations, but not on disclosure
Several companies and individuals have been identified in Liberal and Labor documents as making donations, but were not recorded on the AEC website as having made any returns, as they’re required to do.
Labor is still managing to trash its brand
Labor’s reputation on the issues that influence voting intention continues to worsen.
NSW Labor election promises: big war chest, no hope
According to The Sunday Telegraph NSW Premier Kristina Kenneally has a war chest of $1.4 billion available to fund election promises. However the bald truth is that there will not be a Labor government after the March election to spend anything, writes Richard Farmer.
Essential: Coalition extends lead, and on whom do we rely for news?
The Coalition has extended its 2PP lead in the latest Essential Report poll. And we don’t trust blogs when it comes to news — or newspapers.
Essential: 51-49 to Coalition
The weekly Essential Research poll has the Coalition with a 51-49 two-party lead for the fourth week running. The Coalition primary vote is up a point to 45%, with Labor steady on 38%, writes William Bowe.
Essential: climate change — more people don’t know, and don’t trust Labor
New figures show just how badly damaged Labor’s “brand” is — especially on climate change. Asked who they trusted most to understand and deal with climate change, 29% of those polled said the Coalition, well ahead of 23% for Labor.
EMRS poll in Tasie: Labor 30, Liberal 42, Greens 24
Tasmanian firm EMRS has published the latest of its occasional polls on state voting intention, which has Labor down four points since August to 30 per cent, the Liberals up seven to 42 per cent and the Greens down two to 24 per cent, writes William Bowe.
Newspoll: Labor creeps ahead
After a fairly lengthy period where the phone pollsters marched in lock-step, Newspoll has broken away from the pack with a 52-48 two-party preferred lead for Labor, reports William Bowe.
Grog: Could the real Paul Howes please stand up?
So-called “faceless” union man Paul Howes has bold visions for the future of the ALP, but sadly you won’t find them in his new book, writes Greg Jericho at Grog’s Gamut.
ALP MP: Labor must tackle infrastructure, jobs … and gay marriage
New Labor MP Stephen Jones rose in parliament yesterday to move an amendment to Greens MP Adam Bandt’s motion to push for a consensus on the issue of gay marriage. He went on to deliver the case on why Labor must embrace the change.
