Denis Napthine asks for Victorian electorate’s trust on poll day

VICTORIAN Premier Denis Napthine has effectively launched the final rush to the November 29 state election.

Victorian Premier Denis Napthine has effectively launched the final rush to the polls: Picture: David Smith

VICTORIAN Premier Denis Napthine today deflected concerns about the Coalition’s poor standing in the electorate by arguing that his government was the only trustworthy option at the November 29 election.

Dr Napthine this morning visited Victorian Governor Alex Chernov ahead of the writs being issued at 6.00pm tomorrow but used the symbolic get together to effectively launch the final rush to the polls.

Dr Napthine said the electorate was only focused on the general election and that voters would decide on the question of trust, choice and good decision-making.

He also stressed the government’s strong performance managing the Victorian finances, which are the strongest in the country, warning of the consequences of a “return to Labor’s reckless spending’’.

“It’s your choice, it’s your future, only the Coalition will build a better future for Victoria,’’ he said.

On the latest Newspoll, Dr Napthine said that the electorate would concentrating on the bigger picture.

“I believe over the next 24 days (sic) Victorians will very much focus on what are the real issues,’’ he said.

"Who they can trust to manage the economy, who they can trust to deliver major projects on time and on budget and who they can trust to make the right decisions about the future of Victorians.’’

His comments came after the latest Newspoll in today’s The Australian showed the Coalition marching towards an embarrassing defeat on November 29 unless it can exploit at the 11th hour voter uncertainty about the leadership of Labor’s Daniel Andrews.

Newspoll shows that Labor is now holding a comfortable two-party-­preferred lead of 54 per cent to 46 per cent, and that the Coalition’s primary vote is languishing at less than 40 per cent for the fifth ­survey since Aug­ust last year.

Despite the Coalition’s lukewarm standing, Premier Denis Napthine is seen as the premier of choice among voters, opening up a 13-point gap over Mr Andrews, 47 per cent to 34 per cent.

Mr Andrews also remains stuck in negative territory on the leadership satisfaction rating, with 36 per cent satisfied and 45 per cent dissatisfied.

That provides the Coalition with the opportunity to claw back votes in the run up to the election.

But there was a sense of pessimism today creeping into the Coalition election campaign in the 26 days until the election, with Labor concentrating heavily on its grassroots strategy and the government struggling to regain lost ground.

Dr Napthine also today forcefully criticised Labor’s record on managing major projects, having erred over the multi-billion dollar desalination plant and struggled for years to introduce a new smartcard system for the states public transport system.

He also raised the issue of population growth in Victoria, which is causing significant issues in the inner city and outer suburbs.

The Newspoll suggests that Labor would win power with a comfortable majority and see off the first one-term government in Victoria in nearly 60 years.

The Newspoll also suggests, however, that there is a significant number of uncommitted voters, indicating that there are still enough undecided votes to swing the result to the Coalition over the next 26 days before the vote.

Dr Napthine told The Aus­tralian that he still expected to hold office, believing that voters would cast their ballots on state ­issues but that the election would be ‘’very, very tight’’.

‘’Victorians are smart voters and they are starting to say: ‘Well, this is about state issues’,’’ Dr Napthine said. “This is about who do you trust to manage the ­economy.’’

Health and education, which are typically Labor strengths, are the dominant issues of concern although the state’s economy has also re-emerged as a significant influence on the vote.

Nearly half of voters believe Labor will win and a third believe the Coalition will be successful.

The survey shows that both the Labor and Coalition primary vote increased by four points but Labor leads the Coalition 41 per cent to 39 per cent.

The Greens vote fell by three points to 13 per cent, which is in the 10 per cent to 13 per cent region of where the minor party is expected to poll.

The Nationals, at 4 per cent, are nearly three points below the 2010 election result, although there is capacity for this vote to increa­se.

The latest Newspoll was taken between October 27 and October 30 and included the consumer backlash over the Abbott government’s plans to increase the petrol tax take and the debate about a potenti­al rise to the GST.

The Newspoll comes as the ­Opposition Leader spent the weekend trying to escape the fallout over potential charges being laid against militant Victorian building unionist John Setka in the wake of the Royal Commission into Trade Union Governance and Corruption.

Victoria has not unseated a first-term state government since the mid-1950s, but today’s Newspoll suggests that Dr Napthine has a significant task ahead of him to remain in office.

The election campaign is expected to get fully under way after tomorrow’s Melbourne Cup, with the Coalition back-ending its spending on advertising to when it believes most people will be preparing to vote.

Labor is quietly confident that it can win office but party strat­egists are concerned that the support for the ALP is soft and could result in a late switch back to the Coali­tion.

Newspoll shows that Dr Napthine’s satisfaction levels remain solid, with 46 per cent of Victor­ians satisfied with the way he is doing his job.

That is an increase of six points.

Only 36 per cent are satisfied with the way that Mr Andrews is doing his job as leader, which is up by four points since the previous Newspoll.

The proportion dissatisfied has also climbed by four points, to 45 per cent, while the proportion uncommitted has dropped by eight points to 19 per cent.

On almost every leadership indic­ator, Dr Napthine leads Mr Andrews, including understanding of the major issues, strength, vision, trust and experience.

However, the Premier is considered more arrogant.

On a two-party-preferred basis and based on preference flows at the 2010 election, the Coalition vote is down more than five points since that vote.

Coalition strategists have sent mixed messages about the impact of federal decisions on the Napthine government, even though there has been deep disquiet about the timing of the Abbott government’s change to the petrol tax take.

Tony Abbott’s action in placing his arm around Dr Napthine at a press conference last Friday has also been met with some ­unease.