Newspoll shows Coalition one percentage point short of Labor

The Australian ^ | 16th June 2009 | Matthew Franklin

[naturalman1975]

LABOR's long-held strong lead over the federal Coalition in opinion polls has collapsed, with the latest Newspoll showing the opposition just one percentage point short of the Government.

While Kevin Rudd has maintained a strong lead over Malcolm Turnbull as preferred prime minister, the past fortnight has brought a four-point turnaround in primary voting intentions, with Labor now ahead by 41 per cent to the Coalition's 40 per cent.

The shift, which followed the resignation of former defence minister Joel Fitzgibbon, puts Labor at its lowest point since last October and well below its 2007 election primary result, when it won 43.3 per cent of the vote.

The Coalition's primary vote is now at its highest point since the election, and two points higher than late last year when Mr Turnbull ousted Brendan Nelson to become opposition leader.

However, the Newspoll, conducted exclusively for The Australian last weekend, shows Labor retaining a strong lead of 53 per cent to 47 per cent in two-party preferred terms.