crean - dead man walkin'

As a staunch LIBERAL - I am so in favour of Crean going by byes.

That would lead to a much stronger Labour party.

Something all but the most one-eyed should see as good!

Whether its Carr or someone else- Crean is a loser or is at least perceived by far too many as one.

He's outta here!


Carr canes Crean in poll
By Linda Silmalis
September 21, 2003

PREMIER Bob Carr would give Labor a better chance of beating Prime Minister John Howard at the next federal election, according to the latest Newspoll.



The authoritative poll, conducted exclusively for The Sunday Telegraph, found voters across Australia prefer Mr Carr to Simon Crean as Opposition Leader.

In a major blow to Mr Crean, the poll also shows Labor would be more likely to pick up Coalition seats with Mr Carr at the helm.

The poll was conducted via telephone on the weekend of September 13-14, with interviews conducted with 1145 voters across Australia.

While Mr Carr has ruled out a move to Canberra before 2007, 54 per cent of voters said they want him to lead federal Labor.

In contrast, just 20 per cent felt Mr Crean should keep his job.

Among ALP supporters, the gap was even wider. Mr Carr received 64 per cent support, with only 23 per cent for Mr Crean.

When voters were asked who they would support at a Federal election if Mr Carr was Labor leader, 44 per cent said the Coalition and 41 per cent chose Labor.

On a notional two-party preferred basis, using the distribution of preferences recorded at the last federal election, the Coalition and Labor would be equal with 50 percent support each.

While the change in leadership would not guarantee Labor victory, the poll suggests a very close election outcome could be expected.

When compared with a Newspoll published on September 16, support for a Bob Carr-led Labor Opposition has risen by five per cent. It is also the first time in a year that Labor's support has risen significantly above its vote at the last federal election.

Support for Mr Carr is predictably higher in NSW, at 43 per cent.

Mr Carr also out-performed Mr Crean in several categories.

The Premier was seen as decisive and strong by 59 per cent, compared with 14 per cent for Mr Crean.

Mr Carr was also seen as being more in touch with voters by 53 per cent of voters, compared with 14 per cent for Mr Crean.

Mr Crean's best rating was for understanding major issues.

"Voters throughout Australia prefer Bob Carr to lead the Labor Party," said Newspoll general manager David Briggs. "He is deemed to outperform the current leader, Simon Crean, in many ways and is likely to provide Labor with a better chance of beating John Howard in the next federal election."

The results come three months after a June poll found voters preferred Kim Beazley to Mr Crean.

"Unfortunately for Labor, these latest poll results are even less flattering for Simon Crean," Mr Briggs said. "In the last three months, he has been unable to raise his profile sufficiently to remove the threat posed by challenges to his leadership."

The Sunday Telegraph