THE COALITION WINS WEEK TWO

Kieran Gilbert, Sky News Chief Political Reporter

30 July 2010

At the end of the second week of election campaign 2010, the gap between the two parties is closing.

After a slow start for Tony Abbott, hampered by the ghost of WorkChoices, it's been ghosts of another kind that have caused enormous problems for the Gillard campaign in week two.

Leaks from within the Government have raised questions about Julia Gillard's commitment to paid parental leave and the size of the pension increase, but more importantly they've encouraged doubts about the unity and discipline of the Government.

Even if Kevin Rudd is not responsible for the leaks, as many within Labor suspect, his name returns to the headlines every time these stories are aired.

If these leaks continue it will be an unmitigated disaster, that Julia Gillard really has little hope of countering.

On Sky News another former leader did his best to distract from the Gillard campaign. Mark Latham said what many in the ALP are thinking, that Kevin Rudd is guilty of the leaks, describing him as a "snake," "unmanly" and a "coward".

After so long in Opposition it's remarkable to watch members of a party doing their best to lose Government.

Whether it be former disgruntled leaders or current members of the Government, who don't seem to mind if Labor loses.

And lose they might.

In recent elections the bookies have repeatedly been accurate indicators of the result.

The ALP remains the clear favourite according to all the major betting agencies but there's been a rush of money on the Coalition.

On the betting exchange Betfair the Coalition was $4.80 prior to the debate, they're now into $3.50. TAB Sportsbet has taken more than $25,000 on the Coalition since the weekend and has firmed from $5 into $3.60.

Unless Labor sorts itself out quickly those outlays could prove money well spent.

Share your thoughts on this blog:

Comments are moderated and will not appear until they have been approved.

Curtis Stark, Melbourne, VIC (13 August 2010 11:20AM) wrote:
I wish you or other reporters would question Julia Gillard on her obnoxious comments that "a peak budget deficit of 6% of GDP is equivalent to a person on $100,000 a year with a $6,000 loan". 1/ a person on a $100k salary only has 2/3 of that with which to pay a loan off (after tax of course) 2/ GDP is not equivalent to income. GDP is irrelevant - it is not a measure of a government's income or receipts. Instead, she should be quoting the governments actual budget surplus or deficit. 3/ Given #2 above, a government doesnt have a constant stable surplus like a person may have. In fact, it is rare a Government consistently makes a surplus at all, so the government debt will likely be a % of its deficit. Please, please please call out Miss Gillard on her blatant LIE.

Trish, Brisbane (13 August 2010 9:06AM) wrote:
Kieran I'm so tired of hearing Tony Abbott say he is going to stop the boats... Simply opening the old detention centre is not the answer and he has been strangely silent on the actual actions he will take. Whats he going to do shoot the poor sods, or is he going to stick them on a plane to be murdered in their country of origin?? Also I'm tired of the hyprocrites... Blaming labour for not bringing in the ETS to assist the environment when all the time it was the Libs that canned it in the Senate more than once.. not to mention the Greens who assisted with this simply because it wasnt everything they wanted. It was surely at least a start. Why havent any Journo's picked this up??

Peter Wills, Canberra (12 August 2010 11:16AM) wrote:
Keiran, relax mate you've got to give Latham credit for his audacity - makes ratings too!

Mathew, Broken Hill (10 August 2010 2:23PM) wrote:
I really want to find out how Tony Smith and the Liberal Party plan to deliver a minimum of 12Mbps to 97% of Australians utilizing wireless technology? Not even the more advanced countries in the world can deliver a minimum of 12Mbps via wireless technology, how on earth do the Liberal Party believe that they can deliver this speed. How are they going to overcome congestion, how are they going to overcome interference from outside sources such as weather and other wireless frequencies, how are they going to ensure that this technology moves forward with demand and the ever increasing need for faster speeds and larger download limits. This technology and the speeds quoted are outdated on paper, let alone at the time of rolling out. Then we are going to have to upgrade the Liberal's network far sooner then what we would have to under the Labour Party's plans. How can the Liberal Party claim that the Labor Party's NBN will be out of date when rolled out, when the Liberal Party's plan is not just out of date now, but it was out of date back in 2006 when they originally thought the plan out. There is no need to upgrade the NBN for at least a decade or more after completion, but when it does need to be upgraded it can be done so quickly and cheaper then if the Liberal Party gets their way. The Liberal Party stands for nothing and opposes everything!

brad cabalano, nz but sydneysider (9 August 2010 9:47AM) wrote:
good to see your abbott mania and anti julia is backfiring on you as the polls have swung against your attempt to bring down labor.

C.Lewington, Brisbane (4 August 2010 7:41AM) wrote:
Why not arrange a debate about the economy between Gillard & Swan and Business Leaders like Gerry Harvey, Dick Smith and the mining executives. All businesses are managed by their level of Operating Profits not by the level of tax they have to pay. The level of tax companies pay will influence the investment models and in the case of the miners will change their decisions whether to continue investing in Australia. The supermarkets are more worried about the increasing operating costs like electricity, transport and water. Mining companies are very mobile and if they decide not to invest in projects in Australia not only will thousands of mining employees lose their jobs but many Australian support industries such as maintenance and mining town retail outlets will also go under. What happens then to the "Super Profits Tax" that the government is relying on to finance its promises. There won't be any Tax coming into treasury. Let's bring this government to account. We need to know the truth not have to listen to more spin.

Josh, Brisbane (2 August 2010 11:09PM) wrote:
Kieran, Love your coverage of the campaign trail. I want to challenge PM Gillards statements at a press conference today with Simon Creane & Jenny Macklin present. Where is the "Labor Spending Tally" that she states is published every day? Nothing has been produced online, print or tv that I've seen. Maybe a question for your team next time available with the PM. Keep up the great work mate.

Jason Elton, Brisbane (2 August 2010 6:09PM) wrote:
Re media coverage reporting Tony Abbott's direct line to Nauru. With so many bright sparks involved with your election coverage I wonder is it not ironic that a supposedly reformed climate change denier such as Tony Abbott is prepared to continue to allocate millions of tax payers funds to a Nation that likely faces a direct risk from climate change. The eventual result of which being that Nauru's entire population are likely to themselves become refugees and will be seeking asylum. Makes me wonder has a deal already been done, if the reverse phone call came from the Nauru PM I wonder if MR Abbott will take that call?? I am even more curious as to whether anyone has the courage to pose the question??

tony mullen, nz (2 August 2010 12:28PM) wrote:
seems crazy that laurie oaks says leak,anonomous as it is and therefore unsubstantiated.media frenzy follows and a gov't is brought down or fighting for it's survival. the media should attack mr oaks not the gov't.