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Fed: Swan brushes off Newspoll slide


15 Jun 2009 11:07 PM

CANBERRA, June 15 AAP - Treasurer Wayne Swan has brushed off the latest Newspoll, which shows the coalition closing the gap on Labor.

The latest Newspoll, published in The Australian newspaper on Tuesday, showed Labor's primary vote had slipped two points to 41 per cent compared to 40 per cent for the coalition, up two points from a fortnight ago.

However, Labor still retain a sizeable lead on a two-party preferred basis, 53 points to the coalition's 47 points.

"We can't be concerned about the polling outcomes as they are published weekly, fortnightly or monthly," Mr Swan told ABC TV.

He said it was more important for the government to concentrate on the economy in the midst of the global economic crisis.

"What we have to do is to get the economic settings right for Australia," he said.