The Labor Party in Queensland has been battered by a couple of negative opinion polls this week, leading the Premier Anna Bligh to admit she would lose any election held right now,

Another poll, done by an honours student at QUT, appears to back the recent polls.

Lauren Marer reports.

TRANSCRIPT

He’s proven he Cando Queensland, but can Campbell Newman do Ashgrove?

According to QUT journalism honours student Steven Fox, yes he can!

His survey of voters in the electorate looks at the role of the media – in particular social media – in the local campaign.

Steven Fox, QUT Student: “Now Campbell Newman is campaigning across the state as opposed to Kate Jones who is focussing just on the Ashgrove electorate, he has a much higher profile in the media than Kate Jones.”

Now Campbell Newman is campaigning across the state as opposed to Kate Jones who is focussing just on the Ashgrove electorate, he has a much higher profile in the media than Kate Jones.

Of the 290 Ashgrove residents surveyed, seventy per cent were aware of Campbell Newman’s campaign, while only 40 per cent knew of their current MP, Kate Jones.

His findings also suggest undecided voters and members of the Ashgrove community who don’t particularly care about politics are expected to vote for Newman based on the media coverage he received during his time as former Lord Mayor.

The LNP is giving the impression of confidence, especially after this week’s postive public opinion poll. Campbell Newman is on holidays, but the acting LNP leader says the Ashgrove campaign is unraveling as planned.

Tim Nicholls, LNP Member: People know Campbell, they know that he’s decisive, they know that he gets things done, they know that what he says he does and I think those are the things that they’re looking for.

But Labor’s Kate Jones is not worried.

Kate Jones: “I’m absolutely determined that I’m going to work extremely hard to make sure that the people of Ashgrove continue to have a strong voice.”

She’s taking a more personal approach to the heated campaign, but does agree that new media is changing the way politicians campaign.

Kate Jones: “I think that the QUT study that is being done, does highlight that more and more politicians are using online media to connect with people, whether that’s using Facebook or Twitter and I’m definitely spending more time doing that.”

But until the last vote is counted on election night, the race is not over.

Vox 1: “I would hope Kate Jones. Why? Because she’s a local and she’s been here for quite a while.”

Vox 2: “I want Campbell Newman to win, I just thought he did a good job during the floods.”

The truth is that without a victory in Ashgrove, Campbell Newman cannot be Queensland’s next Premier.

Lauren Marer, QUT News.