Victoria poll sounds alarm for NSW Labor

Surprise swings against Labor in Saturday's Victorian election will flow on to an already "on the nose" NSW Government at next year's state election, a leading political analyst believes.Opinion polls failed to pick up a swing against the Brumby government in Victoria until late in the campaign, but in NSW the writing had been on the wall for Labor for some time, said University of Wollongong politics lecturer Anthony Ashbolt."Labor don't have a chance of retaining office; the implications are already there," he said. "I think the Victorian result will simply reinforce a tendency that already exists [in NSW]."Dr Ashbolt said it was hard to draw individual comparisons, given the different circumstances in NSW and Victoria, but said early polls indicated the late swing seen in Victoria was already well entrenched in NSW."This is despite the fact that the Liberals are not offering an alternative of any substance," he said.Meantime, Labor in the Illawarra is distancing itself from the Victorian outcome.Labor candidate for Keira Ryan Park said Victoria and NSW had different issues, but any result where a Labor government was under threat concerned him."I don't need a Victorian poll to tell me I need to be fighting."Wollongong MP Noreen Hay's Liberal opponent, Michelle Blicavs, said the results showed Victorian voters were sick of being neglected by Labor."I believe the voters don't want Labor in for another four years - they don't want to end up like NSW," she said.Ms Hay said Labor's policy position and vision for NSW were clear and its record of delivering in the Illawarra strong.She said it was up to Opposition Leader Barry O'Farrell to present a better vision for the state if the Coalition wanted power in March."In my own seat I know it will be a tough election and votes will have to be won," she said.Outgoing Keira MP David Campbell believes the close result in Victoria will put pressure on the Coalition to explain the policies it has "in the bottom drawer".He said Mr O'Farrell believed he could "coast to government" without explaining his policies.However, he said the "neck and neck" Victoria vote showed residents were clearly searching for information from both parties."The community wants to know public policies, of which the Coalition's are scant," he said.