WA: Swing against Labor in WA - Newspoll

AAP General News (Australia)
08-16-2008
WA: Swing against Labor in WA - Newspoll

PERTH, Aug 16 AAP - Labor is suffering a swing against it in Western Australia, with
the government and opposition now neck-and-neck in the polls, a Newspoll shows.

The Newspoll, published in The Weekend Australian today, shows new Liberal leader Colin
Barnett has slashed Premier Alan Carpenter's lead as preferred premier.

Labor would lose at least four seats if an election were held this weekend, the newspaper says.

The Newspoll has support for Labor at 51 per cent on a two-party preferred basis, just
ahead of the a combined Liberals and Nationals on 49 per cent.

At the time of the last Newspoll covering April-June, Labor had a lead of 54 per cent
to 46 per cent.

Primary support for Labor was almost unchanged on 42 per cent, up one percentage point,
while support for the Liberals and Nationals rose by seven points, also to 42 per cent.

The results put pressure on Nationals leader Brendon Grylls to reconsider his decision
not to go into coalition with the Liberals, should both parties poll well, the newspaper
said.

While Mr Carpenter still leads on the matter of who would make a better premier, 49
per cent to Mr Barnett's 31 per cent, the gap has narrowed to 18 points compared to a
50-point lead Mr Carpenter enjoyed over Mr Buswell.

Many commentators are already speculating that Mr Carpenter may have disadvantaged
his party by going to an election six months before one was due.

They say the nine-per swing to the Country Liberal Party in last weekend's Northern
Territory election, which the Labor government called 12 months early, could be a sign
of things to come in WA, where the Liberals need only a swing of about four per cent to
oust the Carpenter government.

AAP mn/imc

KEYWORD: POLLWA NEWSPOLL

2008 AAP Information Services Pty Limited (AAP) or its Licensors.