Abbott cements his lead as ALP slumps to 36 per cent of primary vote

SUPPORT for Kevin Rudd's Labor government has slipped for a second week in a row, with the ALP primary vote plunging to just 36 per cent, according to an exclusive Galaxy poll.

The result is below Julia Gillard's vote at the last election and comes as the Coalition's primary vote remains unchanged from last week on 45 per cent.

On a two-party preferred basis, an election held today would deliver a Coalition government with 52 per cent.

But parents don't like Mr Abbott's plan to axe Labor's $820 Schoolkids Bonus. According to the poll, Mr Abbott's plan to cut the payment is opposed by 47 per cent of voters.

Opposition is highest among parents, with 50 per cent of mothers and fathers disagreeing. Only 38 per cent backed Mr Abbott's vow to cut the welfare payments.

"Voters prefer the paid parental leave scheme proposed by the Coalition over Labor's policy, but there is significant opposition to the Coalition's plan to axe the Schoolkids Bonus,'' Galaxy pollster David Briggs said.

Yesterday Mr Rudd promised he would "fight" to get back in the election race but conceded his back was against the wall.

"I've been in a few tight spots before and I've managed to fight a way forward," he said. "I intend to fight my way forward."

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Coalition gets New England and Lyne: poll

Proof that the turncoats betrayed their electorates

A NEWSPOLL shows the Coalition will easily win the NSW seats of New England and Lyne formerly held by Tony Windsor and Rob Oakeshott.

The poll, taken between August 12-15 and published on Saturday in The Australian, found that former Nationals' Senate leader Barnaby Joyce, who resigned from the upper house to contest New England, has a huge lead over Labor.

The poll shows a collapse of the independent vote in the electorate and a doubling of support for the Coalition.

It found the Coalition's primary vote was 53 per cent, up from 25.2 per cent in 2010, while independents attracted 18 per cent of the vote, down from 63.1 per cent in 2010.

Labor's primary vote was 24 per cent, up from 8.1 per cent in 2010.

In Lyne, the poll showed the Coalition's primary vote was 51 per cent, up from 34.4 per cent in 2010, while votes for independents crashed from 47.8 per cent in 2010 to 16 per cent.

Labor's vote went up from 13.5 per cent to 26 per cent.

On a two-party preferred basis the poll shows the Coalition is on 66 per cent in New England and 59 per cent in Lyne, while Labor is on 34 per cent and 41 per cent respectively.

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PNG is 100% behind asylum deal: O'Neill

PNG'S Prime Minister Peter O'Neill has confirmed his country's commitment to the asylum seeker deal agreed with the Rudd government.

Fairfax media reported on Saturday that Mr O'Neill had said his country had not agreed to settle all asylum seekers found to be genuine refugees after they were processed on Manus Island.

Mr O'Neill reportedly said Australia would need to take back a share of them.

"There is no agreement that all genuine refugees will be settled in PNG," he said.

The coalition and the Australian Greens seized on the report, saying it showed the deal was unravelling.

But Prime Minister Kevin Rudd said the PNG government had confirmed its "100 per cent support" again on Saturday and he could guarantee that no person sent by a a people smuggler on a boat to Australia without a visa would be settled in Australia.

In a short statement released on Saturday night, Mr O'Neill said PNG reaffirmed its 100 per cent commitment to the agreement signed with Australia.

"People who are found to be refugees, identified through the process in collaboration with United Nation High Commission for Refugees will be settled in Papua New Guinea and other participating countries in the region," he said.

"They will not be returned to Australia under the agreement. PNG remains 100 per cent committed to the Regional Resettlement Agreement with Australia."

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Tony Abbott unveils controversial maternity leave scheme

Tony Abbott will today unveil his big pitch to Australian families - a generous paid parental leave scheme that will also deliver fathers two weeks paternity leave at their actual salary and mothers up to 26 weeks leave on full pay.

For the first time, he will reveal the 2015 start date of his new scheme. Mr Abbott will also confirm that the Coalition's decision to also pay working women's superannuation entitlements while on baby leave will ensure women on average weekly earnings who have two children will be better off by $50,000 when they retire.

Women earning $65,000 a year would secure an extra $20,000 in cash payments under Mr Abbott's scheme compared to Labor's plan.

An exclusive Galaxy poll published today in The Sunday Telegraph suggests the policy is a winner, with 44 per cent of voters backing Mr Abbott's paid parental leave scheme compared to 36 per cent who preferred Labor's existing scheme.

The scheme, which has been fully costed by the independent Parliamentary Budget Office, will involve a net additional cost to taxpayers of $6.1 billion over the forward estimates. That's after Mr Abbott hits 3000 of Australia's largest companies with a 1.5 per cent tax levy to pay for the scheme.

In an exclusive interview, Mr Abbott said he made no apology for offering such a generous scheme to working women. The father of three confirmed he hoped it would deliver women more choice to have more kids.  "Every working mum is going to be better off under our policy,'' Mr Abbott said.

"It proves that the Coalition 'gets it' when it comes to the reality of the contemporary woman and contemporary families.

"The fact is very few families these days can survive on a single income. Just about every family needs more than one income to survive. So if we are serious about allowing women to have kids and a career we've got to have a fair dinkum paid parental leave scheme."

The Coalition's offer of six months on full pay compares with Labor's scheme which offers all working women 18 weeks pay at the minimum wage - a maximum of $11,200.

That compares with Mr Abbott's scheme which will offer women earning up to $150,000 six months off work on full pay to care for their baby. Women who earn over $150,000 will also get the maximum $75,000.

During the Howard Government, Mr Abbott famously said paid parental leave would happen "over this government's dead body, frankly".

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