Australia PM Rudd bruised but not beaten

Australian Prime Minister Kevin Rudd defied a week of bad headlines and an opposition attack on ballooning government debt to maintain an election-winning lead in the opinion polls, the latest Reuters Poll Trend has found.

Mr Rudd holds a commanding 13.2-point lead over the conservative opposition parties with 56.6 per cent support on a two-party basis, which would see him returned with a larger majority if the figures were reflected at a national election.

The Rudd government's support is down 2.2 points from a month ago and 0.7 points from early May, and the Reuters Poll Trend shows a small revival for the opposition Liberal-National coalition, which climbed 2.2 points in a month to 43.4 per cent.

The latest result is the lowest for Rudd since October 2008, when two-party support for the left-leaning Labour government fell to its lowest levels at around 55 per cent.

Opposition Leader Malcolm Turnbull will take some heart from the result, which comes as the conservative opposition attacks the government's May 12 budget and growth forecasts, record-high deficit and forecasts of a decade of debt as Australia battles the global recession.

Australian media over the past month have reported the polls are starting to turn against Mr Rudd, with the Sydney Morning Herald headlining the latest polls as Labour's Downturn and Mr Rudd's walk with the gods is over.

The next election is due in Australia toward the end of 2010, although Mr Rudd could go earlier if the upper house Senate blocks his legislative agenda.