| The Coalition has a LONG way to go |
| Sunday, 21 October 2007 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Page 9 of 11 There is a commonly held perception that for the ALP to win the 2007 Federal Election, they must gain somewhere in the vicinity of 51% of the Two-Party Preferred (2PP) vote. This perception is based on the 1998 result, where Kym Beazley exceeded 50% 2PP, but did not win. Recent election results have indicated that the electorate has changed, and the result will not be this way in 2007. By analysing past election results, from 1996-2004, we can use probability formulae to predict the potential result for any given seat, and count up the predicted seat wins for each party, based on these past results. Seats in general are relatively stable, and can be measured against their state 2PP vote in each election. This has been done previously.From these figures, we can use probability formulae to indicate the likelihood of a certain seat going one way or the other, for a range of 2PP values. The seats can then be counted up, and tabulated for each state, across all potential 2PP results. The following graphs show the result of this analysis. In these graphs, a seat must have a probability of greater than 60% for either side to be considered to be won. If a seat is between 50 and 60% for either side, is it said to be "in doubt" for the purposes of this analysis. Note that the 2004 election result was 52.74 for the Coalition, 47.26 for Labor, two party preferred. New South Wales The graph for New South Wales shows that it is a fairly even state for both major parties. Whichever way NSW goes, so goes the country. This can be seen by comparing this graph with the national graph further down on this page. The two independent seats of Calare and New England have been placed in the "in doubt/other" category.
Victoria Victoria is no doubt a happy hunting ground for the ALP. For the Coalition to win Victoria, this analysis shows they must get around 54% of the 2PP vote nationally. Note also the relatively small number of "in doubt" seats in comparison to New South Wales and Queensland (below). This indicates a "divide" of sorts in Victoria, where seats are fairly predictable for one side or the other.
Queensland As much as Victoria is a Labour heartland, Queensland is even more so for the Coalition. This graph is a veritable sea of red, and shows that the ALP must get around 55% of the 2PP nationally just to break even in the Sunshine State. Even if the ALP has a landslide 56-44 result, the Coalition is still predicted to win 11 of the 29 seats. If the reverse occurs, say a 56-44 Coalition landslide, the ALP would only hold one seat in Queensland (Rankin).
Western Australia In WA, we find a more even battleground, although still slanted slightly towards the coalition, particularly if the election goes strongly their way.
South Australia South Australia is a slightly more volatile state, showing more significant changes as the 2PP slides from one party to the other. Still, it can be argued that this state also leans towards the Coalition.
Tasmania, the ACT and the NT  Grouping Tasmania, the ACT and the NT together, we can see that these states, with a combined seat count of 9, are definitely Labour territory, no matter what the election result is.
The Nation Nationally is where the real trend becomes apparent. A 50% result for the Coalition shows 63 seats predicted for the coalition, 75 for Labor, with 13 in doubt/other. Only at 51.5% of the 2PP does the Coalition actually gain a majority of seats. This is totally the reverse of 1998 results. Here is the table of the actual seat count predictions:
On these numbers, the Coalition will not gain enough seats if they only claw back the 3-5% that they have been trailing by for most of the year. Even from the recent Galaxy poll of 53-47 (October 19), they would need to gain a further 4.5% to win the election. If the polls creep further out from here, say back to 55-45 where they have been for most of the year, the task gets even harder.
The Nation - with "in doubt" seats distributed The difficult task that the Coalition faces can be seen further by distributing the "in doubt" seats evenly according to the proportions of definite gains. This shows that a 51.5-48.5 result would only give them 76 seats, with the ALP having 75, and 2 independants. Thus, a win by the barest of margins, even at 51.5% of the 2PP vote. The final seat count table for each 2PP result is:
- Scott McCamish Views: 2946
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