Car support Rudd’s first campaign shot
Prime Minister Kevin Rudd will kick off his campaign to win the September 7 election with an expected announcement of more help for the struggling car industry.
Rudd on Sunday announced the election date, and urged Australia’s to vote for Labor and its economic management, while Opposition Leader Tony Abbott focused on stability.
But Labor faces a tough battle to retain government after six years, two changes of prime minister and a federal budget forecast to be in deficit for at least three years.
The first opinion poll of the campaign, conducted by ReachTEL for Seven Network, gives the coalition a 52-48 per cent two-party lead over Labor, while Abbott has a 1.8 percentage point lead as preferred prime minister with 50.9 per cent.
And the Newspoll in Monday’s The Australian shows voter support for Rudd has slumped to its lowest point. But he is still more popular than Abbott.
The poll of 1147 voters, conducted this weekend, shows voter support for Labor had fallen one percentage point in the last fortnight to 37 per cent, compared to the coalition’s 44 per cent.
On a two-party preferred basis, the coalition has kept its lead of 52 per cent to Labor’s 48 per cent.
Federal Cabinet is scheduled to hold a final meeting about noon on Monday to finalise election campaign announcements before the writs for the election are issued at 5.30pm and the government moves into caretaker mode.
Rudd is expected to unveil $200 million in additional funding for the car industry to increase sales of Australian-made cars.
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The plan will include making the commonwealth car fleet be 100 per cent Australian, and forcing government agencies to buy Australian cars – resulting in extra 18,000 Australian cars sold a year, the ABC has reported.
Meanwhile, Abbott is expected in Brisbane on Monday afternoon.
The Liberal party has released its first television ad.
