REMEMBER WHEN

OPPOSITION Leader Kim Beazley made a dramatic election comeback, with a poll showing Labor neck and neck with the Coalition halfway through the campaign.

The Bulletin-Morgan poll showed that, if the election had been held the previous weekend, the result would have been too close to call.

It was the latest in a series of polls showing Labor clawing back ground from the Howard Government, which took an early lead in the campaign after the Tampa stand-off and the September 11 terrorist attacks in the US.

Labor’s comeback in the polls followed Mr Beazley’s performance in the leaders’ TV debate and the unveiling of the GST rollback package.

Primary support for the Labor Party climbed six points in a week, to reach 41 per cent while Coalition support dived six points to 41.5 per cent, the Bulletin-Morgan Poll shows.

On a two-party preferred basis, the ALP opened up a 3 per cent lead, rising 6.5 per cent to 51.5 per cent.

The Coalition fell by 6.5 to 48.5 per cent. Pollster Gary Morgan said the negative response to the GST during the previous Sunday’s TV debate had been crucial in bringing Labor back into the game.

“Despite his leadership in handling the Tampa crisis and working with the US in their war on terrorism, Mr Howard’s refusal to debate again, particularly as he lost the first debate, could cost him the election,” said Mr Morgan.

Despite the lift to Labor, Howard’s Coalition Government went on to win the election and remained in power for a further six years.