In the first national poll since Kevin Rudd returned as Prime Minister, results show he has taken a significant lead as the country’s preferred leader.
Mr Rudd says he is heartened by the boost Labor has received, but says it is important the party does not get ahead of itself.
In a statement, Mr Rudd said it is encouraging to see voters already responding to his brand of “positive, policy-driven” politics.
Today’s Galaxy poll published in News Limited papers, revealed 51 per cent of respondents said they believed Mr Rudd would make the best prime minister, compared to 34 per cent for Mr Abbott.
Fifteen per cent of those surveyed said they were uncommitted.
Mr Rudd’s position shows an 18 per cent jump from Julia Gillard’s position in March.
However, the Coalition continues to lead Labor, 51 per cent to 49 per cent, on a two-party preferred basis.
The survey, conducted by Galaxy Research on June 27-28, revealed the opinions of 1,002 voters.
Poll data has been projected to reflect the Australian population.
Meanwhile, the Prime Minister is set to announce his new Cabinet line-up …
• Rodney Croome: Rudd’s support for marriage equality is part of his voter appeal
• AFR, Monday: Labor primary vote highest in 6 months, Abbott fades in Newspoll
Ben Woodhead
Federal Labor has received another round of positive polling news following its decision to reinstall Kevin Rudd as Prime Minister, with the party’s share of the primary vote rising to its highest level in six months.
According to the latest Newspoll, Labor’s share of the primary vote now stands at 35 per cent, up six percentage points from the previous polling and at the same level it was the weekend before Mr Rudd was dumped as Prime Minister.
The Coalition’s share of the primary vote slid from 48 per cent to 43 per cent, while Greens support rose from 9 per cent to 11 per cent, allowing Labor to claw back ground in the two-party preferred vote so it now trails the Coalition 49 per cent to 51 per cent.
The Newspoll result is consistent with a spate of polling released since Labor’s leadership reversal last Wednesday, which have all shown the Coalition retaining a narrow, election-winning lead over Labor and Mr Rudd moving ahead of Opposition Leader Tony Abbott as preferred Prime Minister.
Monday’s Newspoll delivered especially stark news for Mr Abbott, as Mr Rudd surged to a resounding lead as preferred Prime Minister, 49 per cent to Mr Abbott’s 35 per cent, with the Opposition Leader dropping 10 percentage points in just one week.
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• Dr Kevin Bonham: Rudd Replaces Gillard: “Being prime minister isn’t a job you have a shot at and then you come back again if you think you’ve learned a lesson” – Gary Gray, Feb 20 2012. Indeed not, Mr Gray. The last egomaniac to pull that little trick off lasted only seventeen years the second time around. This post discusses various polling history and projection aspects of the replacement of Julia Gillard with Kevin Rudd. Of course, this major event has rendered a lot of poll-based projections that were premised on the idea of a Gillard prime ministership at the election void, and all over Australia psephologists are scurrying like spiders to repair their webs.
