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The election countdown: A daily media coverage summary for the 2010 Australian Federal election
Media Monitors provides a daily report of all the 2010 election coverage. Our team of political experts and consultants cover the major print publications across the country to bring you the daily outtakes of election coverage.
September 6: The dominant theme in today’s post-election coverage is that it is time for a resolution of the impasse. The three rural independents have indicated that they could make an announcement today or tomorrow and that they may not all make the same decision.
Polls published at the weekend suggest most voters would prefer the return of the Labor government. Other reports say Labor has agreed to a series of parliamentary reforms drafted by Rob Oakeshott; the Coalition has not. Tony Windsor has prepared a new wish list for regional policy.
Post Election Day 16 (610kb)
September 3: Labor’s success in winning the support of the new member for Denison, Andrew Wilkie, is the major news item in the post-election coverage today.
Other independents are reported to be close to announcing their decisions on who to support – probably on Monday. Most newspapers report Labor as the more likely party to win office. Independent member for Kennedy Bob Katter has released a wide-ranging wish-list.
Post Election Day 13 (608kb)
September 2: The alliance agreement between the Labor Party and the Greens is the major item in post-election coverage today, though interpretations vary widely, from high-risk to strongly positive.
Latest economic growth figures also brought economic management back into discussion of who should form government. This was particularly so with the Treasury questioning Coalition costings to the extent of $11 billion. The judgments of the three independent MPs also remain under scrutiny, especially in their own territories.
Post Election Day 12 (614kb)
September 1: One of the more optimistic reports about the progress of negotiations to form a government is in The Sydney Morning Herald.
The three rural independents have signalled they will give their decision by as early as Friday about who will govern Australia. The fourth independent, Andrew Wilkie, has shelved his promise of a quick decision after rejecting a confidential offer from Labor
Post Election Day 11 (611kb)
August 31: The most widely reported election story today is the Coalition taking the lead in the overall two-party-preferred vote.
Julia Gillard had previously cited Labor’s lead in this count as a major reason for the Government to be returned.
Post Election Day 10 (611kb)
August 30: The Labor Cabinet met in Canberra yesterday and endorsed a broad negotiating brief for Julia Gillard in her discussions with the rural independents today.
On the Coalition side, Tony Abbott has been promoting his “bush credentials” ahead of his meetings with the independents.
Post Election Day 9 (627kb)
August 27: The Coalition stood firm yesterday on its refusal to submit its election commitments for costing by the Treasury and Department of Finance.
Several commentators today write that Opposition Leader Tony Abbott wants to force another election.
Post Election Day 6 (613kb)
August 26: The three key independents had their first meetings yesterday with the Prime Minister and the Leader of the Opposition about the formation of a new government.
The main news story to emerge as a result is the Coalition’s refusal to submit its election commitments for costing by Treasury and the Department of Finance.
Post Election Day 5 (615kb)
August 25: The main theme to emerge from yesterday’s post-election discussions is that they are likely to go on for weeks rather than days.
Post Election Day 4 (663kb)
August 24: There was no substantive progress yesterday towards forming a new government; the most widely-reported story is the Governor-General’s request for legal advice in the unlikely event that she faces a conflict of interest.
Post Election Day 3 (663kb)
August 23: Today’s headlines mostly reflect a widespread assumption that some sort of “deal” will be done with the three established independent members of the House of Representatives. Some reports add the new Greens MP for Melbourne and the yet-to-be-confirmed independent in Denison to the group.
Post Election Day 2 (646kb)
August 20: Real news is scarce in today’s election coverage. Most publications have end-of-campaign roundups, predictions, voting guides and the like.
Some, like the two biggest-selling tabloids in the country, announce their preference prominently on their front pages. Julia Gillard has good coverage of her final speech at the National Press Club in Canberra, which produced a variety of reports.
Day 35 (664kb)
August 19: A second “People’s Forum” in Brisbane last night has attracted extensive coverage even though it produced nothing new and there was no direct debate between the Prime Minister and Opposition Leader.
Day 34 (665kb)
August 18: The Coalition’s announcement of a scheme to offer infrastructure bonds generates many headlines today, as does the continuing argument about a second leaders’ debate/public forum.
Day 33 (667kb)
August 17: The Labor campaign launch dominates election coverage today.
Some papers chose to emphasise the Prime Minister’s general message of confidence; some emphasised economic management; others stressed the importance of the national broadband network, especially its implications for healthcare.
Day 32 (668kb)
August 14-16: With little new by way of policies and promises, the election coverage today ranges widely.
The Prime Minister and Opposition Leader continue to argue about whether they should take part in a debate on the economy (the Gillard choice) or another town hall-style meeting (Abbott’s preference) or some combination of the two, but time is running out.
Queensland newspapers report some partisan fisticuffs at the Bowen races; the News Limited tabloids have front-page headlines on how Tony Abbott would decide on boat people arrivals; and most papers have some sort of preview of Labor’s campaign launch today.
Days 29-31 (845kb)
August 13: With a sparsity of major new policy announcements yesterday, Mark Latham’s confrontation with Tony Abbott probably became the most reported event of the day.
However, the Prime Minister has reasonable coverage of an additional cash incentive to attract apprentices into areas of skills shortages (to be formally announced today), and for her advocacy of high-speed broadband.
Day 28 (663kb)
August 12: There was keen interest in The People's Forum, organised by the Daily Telegraph and held at the Rooty Hill RSL Club. Nothing new emerged but people seemed to enjoy the spectacle of voters putting their concerns directly to the party leaders.
Day 27 (660kb)
August 11: Election campaign coverage is mixed today, with several commentators suggesting the campaign has turned in Labor’s favour. Certainly, the most prominent story is criticism of the Coalition’s broadband policy and Tony Abbott’s inability to explain its details. The big story for Sydney is the promise by Labor to provide more than $2 billion of funding for the “missing link” in the western Sydney railway system. The latest Newspoll in The Australian shows little change but confirms that Labor is struggling in Queensland and Western Australia.
Day 26 (667kb)
August 10: A debate between Treasurer Wayne Swan and his Opposition counterpart Joe Hockey at the National Press Club yesterday was the most widely reported event of the election campaign; both content and style are examined in depth.
The costing of campaign spending and savings promises also attracts wide attention. There is also reaction to Labor’s education policy announcement – some favourable, some not. Regional newspapers generally continue to be more interested in local issues than the broader campaign.
Day 25 (668kb)
August 7-9: Yesterday’s official launch of the Coalition campaign attracted wide attention across the country, with assessments varying from “confident” to “gloating”.
There are new results from Newspoll and Galaxy, tending to favour Labor and the Prime Minister has positive coverage of her promise to reward schools that succeed in raising the performance of their students. Kevin Rudd’s return to campaigning gets favourable coverage in Queensland, especially in regional areas.
Days 22-24 (490kb)
Leading election coverage by State and volume of coverage
Election Quantitative Report Week 3 (556kb)
August 6: Kevin Rudd’s decision to return to the election campaign is the most widely covered story today, by a considerable margin. Some commentators are sceptical about whether he will be able to save the Labor campaign in Queensland but most are positive. There are several critical assessments of the Coalition’s health policy but positive cover of its agriculture policy launch and the decision to abandon Labor’s proposal for internet filtering.
Day 21 (678kb)
August 5: The biggest election story of the day is the re-emergence of Kevin Rudd after gall bladder surgery in Brisbane. There is also extensive previewing of the Coalition health policy, to be released today, including an increased Medicare rebate for after-hours GP visits. The tendency to focus on local issues continues, especially in the regional newspapers.
Day 20 (678kb)
August 4: Today’s election story from left field features in the News Limited tabloid papers. It says that the tobacco industry is funding a $5 million anti-Labor advertising blitz “cooked up” in collaboration with the Liberal Party, directed against the proposed law mandating plain packaging for cigarettes.
Day 19 (674kb)
August 3: Most writers on the election trail yesterday were looking for instant signs of change with the “real Julia” taking over the Labor campaign. Their assessments are mixed.
Day 18 (714kb)
July 31 - August 2: The most prominent story around the country today, featured in all the News Limited tabloids in the capital cities, says that Julia Gillard has vowed to take control of the Labor campaign and display ‘the real Julia’.
Days 15-17 (883kb)
Election Quantitative Report Week 2 (527kb)
July 30: The election campaign almost disappeared from front pages today. It did so several days ago in the regional newspapers, while several metropolitan papers have recently made do with a front-page pointer to their coverage inside.
Day 14 (724kb)
July 29: The election campaign coverage today took another twist today, turning to the Prime Minister’s anger at media reports inspired by leaks clearly intended to damage her, and her appearance on the cover of Women’s Weekly.
Day 13 (724kb)
July 28: The majority of election campaign coverage is again background, colour and commentary. Noticeably, the commentary has moved significantly towards criticism of the conduct of the campaign.
Day 12 (733kb)
July 27: Hard news is scarce in today’s coverage of the election campaign; colour and background stories predominate.
Day 11 (725kb)
July 24 - July 26: Election coverage today is dominated by the leaders debate. There are numerous, usually small, stories about issues discussed but most of the space is given over to assessments of performance.
Days 8-10 (862kb)
Election Quantitative Report Week 1 (446kb)
July 23: Today’s election coverage has changed character at many news outlets because of the absence from the campaign of the Prime Minister and Leader of the Opposition.
Day 7 (634kb)
July 22: Today’s campaign headlines feature the Coalition’s offer of tax rebates for education costs twice the size of those offered by Labor – a commitment attracting mixed reactions – and Tony Abbott’s visit to a Brisbane school.
Day 6 (631kb)
July 21: Election campaign headlines today were mixed, but Coalition spending cuts were prominent.
Day 5 (630kb)
July 20: Today’s election campaign headlines were not good news for Opposition Leader Tony Abbott. The secondary heading on the Sydney Morning Herald report says “Tony Abbott reawakens the ghost that helped bring down the Coalition” – and that summed it up!
Day 4 (555kb)
July 17-19: The polls have Labor in front.
Days 1-3 (292kb)
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Most mentioned topics of the week include Kevin Rudd, again as the most mentioned Election 2010 t ...
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