The Australian Labor Party (ALP) overtook the ruling coalition on a two-party preferred basis for the first time since the election campaign began, an opinion poll on next month's federal election showed.

ALP drew 52.5 percent support on a two-party preferred basis, compared with the coalition's 47.5 percent, according to the News poll conducted last weekend, the end of the third week of the election campaign.

ALP and the coalition were well-matched with each of them getting 50 percent support at the end of the two previous election campaign weeks.

On the primary vote, ALP's supporting rate stood at 41 percent,rising by one percentage point over a week ago, while the coalition's rate slipped 3 percentage points to 43 percent, showed the poll published Tuesday on The Australian, one of the country'sleading newspapers.

ALP's surge in supporting rate is due to the party's egalitarian schools policy and Labor leader Mark Latham's win over Prime Minister John Howard in the televised debate on Sept. 12, said the newspaper.

Thirty-seven percent of the respondents said they thought Latham would be a better prime minister, compared with 33 percent a week ago.

Howard's support of a better prime minister retreated three percentage points to 47 percent.

Source: Xinhua