The numbers
The new Age/Nielsen poll.

The Napthine government risks being swamped by a tide of
concern about the outlook for jobs and the state economy as it
languishes in a losing position nine months out from the state election.
In a sign the government is failing to gain traction at a
critical point in the political cycle, an Age/Nielsen poll has found the
Coalition lagging behind Labor 47 per cent to 53 per cent in two-party
preferred terms.
It follows a barrage of bad news for the state economy,
including the looming demise of the vehicle manufacturing industry and
deep cuts announced by Alcoa and Qantas.



Illustration: Ron Tandberg.
Illustration: Ron Tandberg.

The poll of 1000 Victorian voters taken during the past week
shows the Coalition's primary vote stuck at 41 per cent, well below the
peak of 45 per cent achieved at the November 2010 election, with Labor
on 37 per cent and the Greens on 13 per cent.
With Victoria's unemployment rate at the highest level for 12 years, job security has become a central concern for voters.
Health and hospitals ranked as the number one issue, followed
by employment, education, financial management and public transport.
Suggesting the government's signature infrastructure project,
the east-west link, may not be producing the political gains first
hoped, roads ranked at the bottom of the list, behind law and order and
the environment.
In a worrying sign for the government, 44 per cent of voters
rated Labor as best at creating jobs, compared with 36 per cent for the
Coalition.