Asia-Pacific News
Australian state election bad news for Rudd's Labor
Sep 6, 2008, 13:37 GMT
Sydney - Australia's opposition Liberal Party was Saturday set to form the state government in the resource-rich state of Western Australia.
A swing of 6 per cent against the ruling Labor Party exceeded poll predictions of a 4-per-cent swing to the opposition and looked set to deliver a shock victory to the Liberals.
Labour currently forms government at the federal level and in all the states and territories. The last victory for Labor was at the general election in November when Kevin Rudd defeated the Liberal government led by John Howard.
Foreign Minister Stephen Smith, a Perth resident, said 10 Labor seats appeared to be lost and that the Liberals would almost certainly be forming a new government.
'If you had to put your money on it, you would have to bet on the Liberals,' Smith said. 'My deep regret is that it's likely there'll be a change of government.'
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