Grievance Debate - Opinion Polls

The issue I wish to raise in today’s grievance debate is the manner in which the media in Australia cover opinion polls on voting intentions and related issues. I raise it not for its short-term significance to the Labor Party at a federal level—it may or may not have some; that is not clear and it is not something on which there would be unanimous views—but for the long-term perspective, as one of a number of issues raising concerns for me and others about the nature and health of our democratic processes. We find ourselves in September 2006 in a position where objective evidence and public perception are miles apart. On a sustained basis, this cannot be a healthy thing.