Expert pollster Campbell White commits to keeping Newspoll on top

The Australian has appointed Campbell White to oversee Newspoll, the nation’s most trusted political poll.

Dr Campbell White has been appointed to oversee Newspoll

The Australian has appointed highly respected political pollster Campbell White to oversee Newspoll, the nation’s most trusted political poll.

The Australian editor-in-chief Michelle Gunn said Dr White’s appointment meant Newspoll would continue to be run by Australia’s most knowledgeable political pollster.

Dr White has overseen Newspoll for the past four years while working for YouGov as its head of public affairs and polling but left the company last month to set up a new polling business called Pyxis Polling and Insights. “We are delighted that Dr White’s expertise and experience will continue to drive Newspoll and maintain its longstanding reputation as the most accurate and important poll of Australian politics and political issues,’’ Gunn said.

Newspoll, published exclusively in The Australian, has ­predicted the two-party-preferred result to within one percentage point of the actual result in the most recent federal, NSW, ­Victorian and South Australian elections.

Dr White has 25 years’ experience in political research and has worked as chief executive of UMR Research and chairman of the Australian Polling Council. “It’s a privilege to be involved with Australia’s best poll, a poll whose legacy I am deeply involved in and care passionately about,” he said.

Dr White will oversee the poll with Simon Levy, a senior researcher who also worked on Newspoll at YouGov. The next Newspoll will be published in The Australian within a few weeks.

The appointment comes as YouGov steps away from running Newspoll after six years. “It has been our privilege to be so intimately involved with this prestigious Australian research institution and we are extremely proud of the work we have done,’’ said YouGov Asia Pacific chief executive Laura Robbie.

“However, with the start of our new strategic plan this month, now is the right time to focus on fully delivering our strategic commitment to providing the Australian public with freely accessible quality data as we do in other areas of the world. This data will provide a comprehensive view of what Australians think across a wide range of areas.

“A key focus will of course be politics, where our data has a track record for accuracy, most recently demonstrated in the federal, NSW, Victorian and South Australian elections.

“We look forward to continuing to provide our clients with the same gold standard of data they have come to expect from us and which has powered Newspoll for the past six years.

“We look forward to continuing working closely with Dr Campbell White and his team.”