WOMEN SWING TO LABOR?

It was reported at the weekend (Sun-Herald 19 September) that there has been a 7 per cent swing to Labor amongst women in NSW. The Taverner poll shows that 40 per cent of women are now going to vote Labor, still fewer than will vote for the Coalition, but enough to give Labor a big boost. (In 1993, the last time Labor won, a majority of women voted for the Coalition but enough women swung towards Labor, then the government, in order for it to win. In other words, women make the difference between winning and losing.) According to the poll, the issues that influenced women’s vote were (in order): greater spending on education; more bulk billing GPs; equal pay; more, cheaper childcare; and tax cuts. Fancy that! The poll also found that 38 per cent of women polled said Labor was better at representing issued affecting women, compared with 30 per cent who judged the government to be better.