Australia opposition surges in polls

[dArKeR]

Australia's new opposition leader has propelled Labor into an election-winning position, according to an opinion poll published yesterday as the national parliament resumed at the start of a feisty election year.

The conservative government, now under threat, was expected to try to ambush Labor leader Mark Latham on his economic record, while Labor was set to attack the government for selling out the nation's farmers in a new free trade deal with the United States.

The rising political tension came as a Newspoll survey, published in The Australian newspaper, showed center-left Labor was neck-and-neck with the eight-year-old government for the first time in 18 months, with support for both at 41 percent.
http://www.etaiwannews.com/Asia/2004/02/11/1076464310.htm

[Violet_Crumble]

1. What a difference a few months make...

Even though I liked Simon Crean, it was pretty clear Labor wasn't going to be able to win an election with him as leader. Now I think the coalition's days are numbered. I was reading this morning that Labor's going to be concentrating on areas where there's disgruntled sugar farmers, and if they're pissed off enough with this free trade agreement, then it will make a big difference come election time. They'd be in traditional Liberal/National Party electorates, and while they wouldn't make a difference if they were in a very safe Labor electorate, they'll make a real difference...

Another sticking point for a long time when it came to a free trade agreement was the US insistance that it be allowed full access to our film and television markets, which have always been protected by a local content quota system. New Zealand managed to get itself included as local content due to arguing that a free trade agreement in place made their exclusion under the quota system illegal, and while their inclusion hasn't had much effect, the US doing the same thing would obliterate the Australian film and television industries...

Oh yeah. I'm still not sure how keen I am on Mark Latham. He supports mandatory detention for asylum seekers :(

Violet...