ELECTION 2010: Latest poll shows Labor’s advantage is gone, Gillard backs MySuper

The Labor Party has officially made its pitch for underdog status in the Federal election campaign, after another disastrous opinion poll showed Labor and the Coalition are now neck and neck, with 50% of the vote each on a two-party preferred basis.

This morning’s Newspoll, published by The Australian, confirms Labor’s once-strong lead over the Coalition has all but evaporated.

Just last week, Labor held a 52-48 lead over the Coalition, but a poor week of campaigning, during which Gillard was hit with damaging leaks from senior Labor sources, Opposition leader Tony Abbott has made up lost ground.

The latest poll forced Prime Minister Julia Gillard to come out and declare that she would now show the electorate “the real Julia” as she promised to step up her campaigning and contact with the community.

“You’ll see me out talking to Australians in all sorts of circumstances,” she told reporters.

But the poll may have had one benefit for Labor, who has now claimed the coveted “underdog” tag from the Coalition.

“When you look at the polls … certainly that’s a status we’re entitled to claim,” Financial Services minister Chris Bowen told ABC radio this morning.

On the policy front, the big new for business is Labor’s decision to endorse a key recommendation of the Cooper Review of the Superannuation system and support the introducting of a no-frills super account to be known as MySuper.

Labor says the low-cost option, which would be offered by major superannuation funds for workers who want to have a low level of involvement with the superannuation matters, will cut costs by up to 40% and result in workers receiving and extra $150,000 upon retirement.

”There are [currently] charges like $85 a month, and if people saw that every month, I suspect they’d be pretty horrified but at the moment they don’t see it eating away at their superannuation balance,” Gillard said.

The proposal – which abandons down some parts of the Cooper Review’s original suggestion, including a push to have a separate licensing regime for MySuper providers – has been welcomed by most parts of the super industry.

Another welcome move from Labor in the super area is a plan to allow tax-file verification of lost super accounts, which should slash costs for funds trying to reunite money with members.

The Coalition announced it will provide more than $100 million for the tourism industry, including $40 million in grants for domestic tourism projects.

This morning, Gillard also announced Labor would spend $669 million over the next four years to increase support for families with students aged between 16 and 18, who will be able to receive up to $4000 a year per student.