The 2016 and election campaign kicks off in earnest now that Malcolm Turnbull has *officially* announced the July 2 date – not that it wasn’t already in high gear, to be fair, but now we’ve got the real budget pitches from both parties.
But it doesn’t look like the Budget had huge sway over the figures. The Newspoll published in The Australian today puts Labor ahead 51-49, which is more or less where it was sitting before the Budget. If the Coalition were hoping for a kick up the arse from punters who liked what they had to say in the Budget, then maybe it’s a muuuuch slower burn than they were anticipating.
The Newspoll figures also confirm something fairly concerning for the Government: Australians generally think this budget will leave them worse off. Men and people earning over $100,000 tend to think it’ll be a good one, though.
But it’s not all sunshine and lollipops for Labor, either. The Ipsos poll, which is published by the Australian Financial Review, keeps the 51-49 figure but puts it in the Coalition’s favour. With voter preference order taken into account, that slides much closer to 50-50. Way too close to call.
So in short? This’ll be a tight race, fought hard in marginal seats. The people don’t look like they were convinced by the Budget, and Labor is pulling up. Who’ll crack first?
Source: The Guardian.
Photo: Getty Images / Stefan Postles.
