Maybe I should have posted this in 'Is this end for News Ltd' because all this seems symptomatic of some weird **** happening internally in that organisation.
PM surges in poll, but Labor still trails badly
Michelle Grattan
November 14, 2011/the AGE
PRIME Minister Julia Gillard's approval rating has jumped by six points and Labor has narrowed the Coalition's two-party lead in the Age/Nielsen poll.
Ms Gillard has also drawn level with Tony Abbott as preferred prime minister for the first time since June, continuing the recent better trend for the government and providing heart to its MPs.
But Labor's primary vote remains on an abysmal 30 per cent, and the Coalition would easily win an election held now.
Julia Gillard speaks at the National Press Club in Canberra yesterday.
Photo: AAP
The opposition leads 55 per cent on the two-party vote, down 2 points since October, to Labor's 45 per cent (up 2). This continues a steady improvement by Labor from its lowest point of 39-61 in July. The Coalition's primary vote is down 3 points to 45 per cent. After the carbon tax legislation was passed in Parliament last week, the Greens' vote has risen 2 points to 14 per cent.
The poll of 1400 people taken between Thursday and Saturday has also brought the government good news on its proposed mining tax, with 53 per cent saying they support it and only 38 per cent opposing it. Mr Abbott has vowed to repeal the tax.
But, in a more surprising result, 46 per cent disapproved of how Ms Gillard handled the Qantas dispute, while only 40 per cent approved.
Ms Gillard's return to the industrial debate has generally been seen as a political plus. People were critical of Qantas (60 per cent disapproved of the airline's grounding) and 49 per cent of people disapproved of the unions' industrial action.
Approval of the way Ms Gillard is doing her job is up 6 points to 39 per cent, and her disapproval rating is down 5 to 57 per cent. Her net approval (approval minus disapproval) is at minus 18 per cent - an 11-point improvement in a month.
Mr Abbott's approval rating is steady on 41 per cent; his disapproval is 54 per cent, also steady, as is his net approval of minus 13 per cent. That equals his lowest net approval and highest disapproval since he became leader.
Mr Abbott, who was out of the country last week and has come under increasing criticism recently, is down 3 points as preferred PM to 45 per cent. Ms Gillard is up 1 point to equal him. This follows several months when Ms Gillard trailed as preferred PM - they were tied on 46 per cent in June.
In Victoria, Labor's two-party vote - 47-53 per cent - is better than the national average but the primary vote (29 per cent) is marginally worse. The Greens are on 16 per cent in Victoria.
On the mining tax, seven in 10 Labor voters and 76 per cent of Green voters were in favour of the 30 per cent profits-based tax on large iron ore and coal mining companies. But only 35 per cent of Coalition voters favoured it and 57 per cent opposed.
When people were asked in May last year whether they supported a tax on the ''super profits'' of mining companies, 44 per cent were in favour and 47 per cent were opposed.
The current proposed tax is least popular in the mining state of Western Australia, where 42 per cent back it and 49 per cent oppose. In all other states, support outweighs opposition.
The poll results come as Ms Gillard prepares to welcome US President Barack Obama for a two-day visit this week, and after Asia Pacific leaders paved the way for a nine-nation free trade zone, including Australia, that would well outmuscle the economies of the European Union.
The leaders of the Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation Forum hailed the free trade agenda of the world's fastest growing region at their weekend summit in Honolulu.
Ms Gillard said she was delighted with progress on the nine-nation Trans-Pacific Partnership.
The govt insider gossip was that the 'leaks' were manufactured to taint the process so the govt could kill the process - which only started because K Rudd want to cozy up to News Ltd while in power.
When the Australian starts writing editorials about Tony's fiscal black hole, maybe then I'll believe we're near fair and balanced coverage.
PM changes mind on uranium sales to India
Updated November 15, 2011 13:33:41/ABC news
Julia Gillard and Manmohan Singh Photo: Strengthening ties: Julia Gillard with Indian prime minister Manmohan Singh (AFP: M. Asokan)
Prime Minister Julia Gillard has set the stage for a showdown with her party's Left at Labor's national conference by back-flipping on the ALP's opposition to selling uranium to India.
In an opinion piece published in Fairfax newspapers this morning, Ms Gillard argues the move would strengthen Australia's relations with India, which possesses nuclear weapons but is not a signatory to the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty.
She says selling uranium to India for peaceful purposes will broaden Australian markets and increase jobs.
"We must, of course, expect of India the same standards we do of all countries for uranium export - strict adherence to International Atomic Energy Agency arrangements and strong bilateral and transparency measures which will provide assurances our uranium will be used only for peaceful purposes," she wrote.
"[We] must be prepared to confront difficult questions about maximising prosperity and the strength of our relationships in our region of the world."
Labor policy prohibits selling uranium to any country that is not a signatory to the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty, and the move will face opposition from the ALP's Left faction.
But pressure has been mounting to change the policy, with Resources Minister Martin Ferguson and Foreign Minister Kevin Rudd both in support of selling uranium to India.
India refuses to sign the treaty because it wants to retain the nuclear option to defend itself against nuclear-armed neighbours, Pakistan and China.
Mr Ferguson says India is not a rogue nuclear nation.
"The international approach to India has changed dramatically with the Nuclear Suppliers Group decision of 2007, led by the United States, to actually sell uranium to India," he said this morning.
Audio: Martin Ferguson speaks to AM (AM)
"We can sell uranium as a nation to countries such as China and Russia, but under our existing policy, which is outdated, it actually is a hangover from the 1970s ... we can't currently sell uranium to India, the biggest democracy in the world, 1.109 billion people, which I might say, 400 million live below the poverty line."
He says the move is about "normalising" Australia's relationship with India.
"India could purchase uranium from a range of countries, but they are desirous, at some point, of being able to purchase uranium from Australia," he said. ...<cont>
