CANBERRA, May 14 (NNN-AGENCIES) – Australia’s opposition Labour Party still maintains the lead, as the federal election campaign entered its final week.
According to the latest edition of Newspoll, published last night, the Labour Party holds a comfortable 54-46 lead, over the Coalition on a two-party preferred basis.
It marks the 20th consecutive Newspoll, where the Coalition has trailed the Labour since Nov, 2020.
Significantly, the Coalition has not been able to make any inroads, since Prime Minister, Scott Morrison, called the election on Apr 10.
Newspoll found that, 43 percent of voters identified Morrison as their preferred prime minister and 42 percent as Labour leader, Anthony Albanese.
It represents a major swing in Albanese’s favour from a 46-37 lead for Morrison at the end of April.
In a major shift of tone, Morrison promised to change his leadership style if re-elected.
Admitting he can be “a bit of a bulldozer,” Morrison promised to empathise more with Australians, if given another term as the prime minister.
“I will seek to explain motives and my concerns and empathise a lot more. But I tell you what, at the end of the day, what matters most is I get the job done,” he told reporters.
In response, Albanese, who today announced, a Labour government would boost health spending by 970 million Australian dollars (673 million U.S. dollars), promised to unite the country.
“A bulldozer wrecks things. A bulldozer knocks things over. I’m a builder, that’s what I am,” he said. “I will build things in this country.”