RE: Western Australian election tomorrow...From the same source I found this one:
"Gallop poised for win
Mark Dodd, State political reporter
February 26, 2005
AFTER a knife-edged campaign dominated by Colin Barnett's bold gamble on a Kimberley-to-Perth canal, West Australian voters appear poised to return Labor's Gallop Government for a second term at today's election.
The results of an exclusive Newspoll conducted for The Weekend Australian show Mr Barnett's "build at any cost" canal pledge has left him high and dry with voters.
After trailing at the beginning of the campaign, Labor now holds a commanding lead, with primary support running at 45 per cent, the highest since Premier Geoff Gallop won office four years ago with a modest 37.2 per cent of the vote.
In contrast, support for the Coalition has fallen from 44 per cent to 39.5per cent since the start of the campaign, matching its lowest point of the past four years.
The influence of minor parties, including the Australian Democrats and One Nation, will be almost negligible, while voters appear likely to reject a referendum on extended shopping hours.
Barring any late swings, the poll shows that, on a two-party-preferred basis, Labor has forged ahead with 54 per cent compared with the Coalition's 46 per cent. That represents an increase of four points since the start of the campaign.
"It is quite amazing," said Newspoll's Sol Lebovic. "They've (Labor) come good and come good at the right time."
The much-vaunted Kimberley-to-Perth canal, the jewel in the crown of Mr Barnett's election strategy, has apparently failed to impress voters.
"In reference to the canal being the major issue of the campaign, it was a bold move by the Opposition but it doesn't appear to have helped them," Mr Lebovic told The Weekend Australian.
After what most observers say was a colourless but safe campaign based on fiscal responsibility, Dr Gallop's personal approval rating has soared to 51 per cent, his highest since September last year.
A fleeting two-day visit this week by John Howard appears to have added little lustre to Mr Barnett's aspirations to high office.
The Coalition leader now enjoys a record dissatisfaction rating, with 50 per cent of voters unhappy with his performance.
On the question of who voters believe would make the better premier, Dr Gallop has increased his lead to more than two to one. He is now the favoured choice of 58 per cent of voters, while only 27 per cent want Mr Barnett.
"After being divided at the beginning of the campaign on the likely winner of the election, the majority of voters, 56per cent, now believe Labor will be returned to government, with only 27 per cent predicting a Coalition victory," Mr Lebovic said.
The Newspoll reveals another big surprise: a drift of voter support in Western Australia back to the two major parties.
Labor's 2001 victory was largely a result of One Nation preferences. But this week's polling shows a dramatic slump in support for One Nation, down from 9.6 per cent in 2001 to a paltry 0.5 per cent.
It is a similar story for the Australian Democrats, who won 2.6 per cent in the last election and are not fielding any lower-house candidates in today's poll.
Only days before the vote, the majority of West Australians indicated they were not going to support either of the referendum questions on liberalised trading hours.
A question asking whether shopping hours should be extended until 9pm between Monday and Friday attracted only 44 per cent who said they would vote "yes", compared with 53 per cent who said "no".
It was a similar result for the second referendum question on whether Sunday trading should be extended by six hours: 43 "