Labor hits lead in Aust election race

Prime Minister Julia Gillard. Photo / Getty Images

A poll out today shows Australian prime minister Julia Gillard and her ruling Labor party has a commanding lead over the Liberal opposition a week before a general election.

This is a reverse of the two parties' position just two weeks ago.

The widely watched Nielsen poll, published in the Sydney Morning Herald and The Age, showed Labor leading the opposition by 53 to 47 per cent on a 'two-party' basis, eliminating minor parties under Australia's transferable voting system.

The latest poll, a swing to Labor of four percentage points, follows a week of strong campaigning by Australia's first female prime minister and a public reconciliation a week ago with her predecessor Kevin Rudd.

Opposition leader Tony Abbott also trails his competition in the 'preferred prime minister' stakes. Gillard leads by a clear margin of 52 per cent to 38 per cent.

- NZHERALD STAFF