Poll concern for Lib MP
CORANGAMITE would switch from Coalition blue to Labor red if a general election were held this weekend, new polling has revealed.
Newspoll this week showed Labor rising to 54 per cent in the two party-preferred stakes, with the Coalition at 46 per cent.
Liberal MP Sarah Henderson would lose her seat to Labor, which is yet to choose a candidate, if the national trend was replicated at a constituency level, with the ALP holding the seat on a 0.9 per cent margin under a uniform swing.
Ms Henderson hung on to Corangamite with a 3 per cent buffer at last year’s election, fending off Labor challenger Libby Coker.
A Labor preselection ballot is set to be held by the end of the year with Ms Coker and Geelong businesswoman Diana Taylor in the running.
Ms Henderson yesterday responded to the new polling.
“In contrast to Bill Shorten and Labor, which have no economic plan for jobs and which are controlled by extremist left unions, the Turnbull government is focused on the issues which matter most to Australians — jobs and the economy, the cost of living, en- ergy prices and national security.”
“As we saw with the ‘Mediscare’ campaign, Labor will say and do anything to get elected.
“The polls certainly tell us that Bill Shorten is not trusted by Australian voters.”
Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull still leads as preferred national leader against Oppo- sition Leader Bill Shorten. Newspoll had support for the PM at 43 per cent of respondents compared with Mr Shorten at 33 per cent, with nearly a quarter uncommitted.
Corio MP Richard Marles said Geelong voters were disappointed with Mr Turnbull’s performance as Prime Minister.
“They (the Coalition) let the car industry leave, and they’ve done nothing for people looking for a job,” he said.
“Malcolm Turnbull’s postal survey is the capstone on a toweringly disappointing prime ministership for Geelong. It shows we’ve got a Prime Minister who has sold out on all the issues he used to care about, and a government that has simply stopped governing.”
This week’s survey is the 18th consecutive Newspoll in which the Coalition has trailed Labor, a tally used against Mr Turnbull by his critics because he cited the loss of “30 Newspolls in a row” as a reason for challenging predecessor Tony Abbott in September 2015.