Newspolls are ‘distorted’ by ‘localised factors washing through’

“Localised factors” with a foreseeable expiry date are often responsible for changes in polling numbers and should not be taken too seriously, says former Labor senator Stephen Conroy. The Australian newspaper reported the Coalition has lost marked electoral ground across traditionally strong states. “Everybody who’s studied polling over a long period of time knows that there are localised factors that wash through polls, and the word ‘wash’ here is important because they disappear over time,” Mr Conroy told Sky News. “Those numbers on Newspoll are distorted at the moment caused by the final wash through of Queensland and a complete debacle in Western Australia.”