East West Link may be state election key, Galaxy Research poll finds

THE East West Link could be the road to electoral victory as almost 60 per cent of Victorian voters want the $6 billion tunnel built, new polling reveals.

THE East West Link could be the road to electoral victory as almost 60 per cent of Victorian voters want the $6 billion tunnel built, new polling reveals.

The Galaxy Research poll of 828 voters shows Premier Daniel Andrews’ Labor Party has clawed its way back to level pegging with the Coalition on a two-party preferred basis, less than a year out from the state election.

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An artist’s impression of the East West Link.

The poll, conducted on Wednesday night, shows Labor’s primary vote has risen to 36 per cent. It picked up 38 per cent in its 2014 win.

But 58 per cent of voters want to revive the east-west tunnel linking the Eastern Freeway and CityLink, which only the Coalition has committed to. And 57 per cent rejected the Premier’s decision to ditch the East West Link, at a cost to taxpayers of $1.2 billion.

Labor figures would be smiling to see that it has returned to 50-50 on a two-party preferred basis.

A Galaxy poll in June showed the government faced an election wipeout, trailing the Coalition 47-53.

But while its primary vote is back close to its 2014 election winning level, Labor needs to watch regional voters, with 77 per cent believing they are dudded in favour of Melbourne on government spending and 52 per cent say the state is heading in the wrong direction.

Voters outside of Melbourne have been keenly aware of the Premier’s bungled handling of the CFA industrial dispute and his botched plan to split the fire services into volunteer and career only.

Labor’s plan for a safe-injecting room in Richmond, reforms to help inner city renters and bans on plastic bags — announced during a by-election in inner-city Northcote — appear to have also failed to resonate with country voters.

Opposition Leader Matthew Guy. Picture: Lawrence Pinder

Before today’s resurgence, Labor’s two-party basis vote was on the decline in the last three Galaxy polls.

But the controversy over Opposition Leader Matthew Guy’s lobster dinner with alleged mafia figure Antonio Madafferi in August was a major blow to the Coalition.

Mr Guy’s personal approval ratings have taken a hit, with 48 per cent dissatisfied with his leadership and only 26 per cent believing him more trustworthy than Mr Andrews.

Almost half of voters believe Mr Andrews is the more trustworthy premier.

Mr Andrews also trounces Mr Guy in the preferred premier stakes — 41 per cent to Mr Guy’s 25 per cent.

But voters are still not impressed with Mr Andrews as a leader, showing 49 per cent dissatisfied with his performance to 35 per cent satisfied.

Galaxy Research managing director David Briggs said the polling showed Labor’s tightly held regional seats — Macedon, Bellarine, Bendigo East and Wendouree are all held under 6 per cent — could come under threat.

Worryingly for the government, 39 per cent of voters believe Victoria is heading in the wrong direction, compared to 38 per cent who feel it is heading the right way.

“Governments, where the majority of the population feel they are heading in the wrong direction, are rarely re-elected,” he said.

“This is Labor’s problem in the regional and rural seats.”

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