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Aussie PM gains in pre-election polls

MELBOURNE, Oct. 18 (UPI) -- The Australian government has made up ground on the opposition Labor Party in opinion polls ahead of the Nov. 24 general election.

But two newspaper surveys published Friday still have Labor in an election-winning lead.

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The Galaxy poll in The Australian shows the Liberal-National government of Prime Minister John Howard is at 43 percent while the Labor Party led by Kevin Rudd is at 45.

Under Australia's preferential voting system, Labor has a six percent lead, the poll showed.

An AC Nielsen poll in The Age newspaper found the government's preferred vote has improved two points to 46 percent while Labor dropped two points to 54 percent.

Both polls showed voters still preferred Rudd as Australia's next prime minister, although Howard has gained ground in this category.

The Galaxy poll said Howard's rating had improved two points to 43 percent since July, while Rudd remained steady at 51 percent.

The Nielsen survey has Howard's preferred rating up by four points to 43 percent while Rudd has dropped five points to 47 percent.

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