From: AAP September 17, 2012 9:03AM
FEDERAL Labor is treating two new polls showing a jump in support for the government with caution.
The latest Newspoll, published in The Australian on Monday, has Labor and the coalition sharing the two-party preferred vote at 50 per cent each.
The Nielsen poll, published in Fairfax newspapers, has the coalition holding a six-point lead - down two points from its August sounding.
Prime Minister Julia Gillard's standing with voters improved in both polls and she has a clear lead over Opposition Leader Tony Abbott in Newspoll.
Foreign Minister Bob Carr says he thinks everyone on the Labor side is treating the polls with some caution.
"Polls spike and dip all the time," he told ABC television.
"The trend line is happier than it has been in recent months but we won't be reacting to it beyond saying that."
Fellow cabinet minister Craig Emerson was just as reserved, describing the results as encouraging.
But he did say the polls appeared to reflect the government's positive agenda and the coalition's negative approach.
Voters also had been given a preview of an Abbott government by the cost-cutting approach of Liberal state administrations, Dr Emerson said.
Liberal frontbencher Christopher Pyne blamed a Labor campaign of personal denigration and vilification of Mr Abbott for a drop in voter support for the coalition and the opposition leader.
"The Labor party has spent the last two weeks and the better part of the last few months demonising Tony Abbott," he told ABC television, likening it to a similar campaign against Queensland LNP leader Campbell Newman before the state election earlier this year.
"They want to destroy his character."
Mr Pyne said Mr Abbott was the most experienced "would-be prime minister" in history.
"Unfortunately, with the Labor party, when they have their backs to the wall and they've tried everything else, they eventually turn to the chum bucket," Mr Pyne said.
If Mr Abbott felt troubled by the personal attention, Australian Greens leader Christine Milne had some handy words of advice: release some policy.
Australians still had no idea how he planned to plug the coalition's "$70 billion budget black hole", she said.
"Tony Abbott hasn't put out a single policy, not one," Senator Milne told reporters in Canberra.
"So if he's not prepared to say exactly what he'll do, then people have a right to say 'well, who are you?
"'What do you stand for and what could we expect from you?'"
Independent senator Nick Xenophon welcomed the latest results, which he partly attributed to the ease with which the carbon tax was introduced.
"We finally have a competition," he told reporters, adding it was a good thing for democracy.
"It'll keep both parties on their toes and (there'll be) more accountability all round."
Nationals senator John Williams said the results were an unsurprising side-effect of tough state government spending cuts in NSW and Queensland.
"When you're making budget cuts like (Queensland premier) Campbell Newman and (NSW premier) Barry O'Farrell have had to do, then of course you're going to be unpopular," he said.
"But of course, they'll pick up."
Senator Williams also noted Labor's jump in the polls came on the back of big pledges for disability insurance funding and education reforms.
"It's easy to promise the world," he said.
He defended Mr Abbott as a "darn good bloke" who shouldn't be condemned for what he may or may not have done at university 35 years ago.
"I mean, fair dinkum. As Barnaby Joyce said over the weekend at the Nationals conference: 'Who cares?'"
Labor MP Andrew Leigh said you may as well toss a coin as pay attention to the opinion polls, which were "all over the place".
"What we are getting is an incredibly noisy inactive indicator driving far too much commentary in Australian politics," he told reporters.
"These polls are fairy floss and they are rotting the teeth of this place."
Mr Pyne said Mr Leigh was an academic and polls were the daily fare of journalists and politicians need to respond to them.
Asked if the Nielsen poll, which shows twice as many voters prefer Malcolm Turnbull to Mr Abbott, would prompt any leadership tensions, he said: "Absolutely not."
The coalition was "100 per cent locked in" behind Mr Abbott, who would lead them to the next election.
"When Malcolm Turnbull was leader you might remember that when he exited the leadership he was deeply unpopular and again he had been the subject of a demonisation campaign by the Labor party."
