-
Kevin Rudd - Source: Reuters -
Related
Australian Prime Minister Kevin Rudd's personal rating with
voters has fallen in the past two weeks as he struggles to stem a
rise in boatpeople arrivals, but his government remains
ahead.
A new opinion poll, published in The Australian newspaper, found
that while Rudd remained preferred prime minister with 63% of
voters, his satisfaction rating fell to 56%, down three percentage
points in a fortnight.
Rudd scored a near record high satisfaction rating of 67% in
October.
Support for Rudd's Labor government tumbled in early November as
the country become embroiled in a heated debate over boatpeople
arrivals.
Critics say the government's border security policy has been
softened and is attracting more boatpeople.
The slump dampened speculation of an early snap poll in 2010 over
the government's carbon trading legislation, which is now before
parliament for a second time vote.
But Newspoll found the government has clawed back support in the
past two weeks, with Labor on 56% support in two-party preferred
terms, up four percentage points, and the conservative coalition
down four percentage points at 44%.
Until now the Liberal-National coalition opposition, which has been
trailing badly in opinion polls, has been unable to dent the
government on issues such as economic management and climate
change.
But in the past month the opposition has targeted the
government's border security policy.
Conservative parties won a 2001 election in which asylum seekers
were a key issue and, while elections are not due until late 2010,
Rudd may call a snap poll in early 2010 if his emissions trading
laws are again rejected by a hostile Senate.
Critics accuse Rudd of being soft on boatpeople after dismantling
the previous conservative government's policy of mandatory
detention.
Rudd says conflicts in South Asia are the reason for the rise in
boatpeople numbers, still small by global comparisons.
There has been a constant stream of boatpeople have arrived off
Australia's remote northwest coast this year, with authorities
forced to rescue several from unseaworthy boats.
More than 1,600 boatpeople have arrived off Australia's northwest
coast this year, mainly people fleeing violence in Afghanistan and
Sri Lanka.
The numbers are small compared with the tens of thousands of asylum
seekers sailing across the Mediterranean to Europe each year.
