According to an AC Nielsen poll taken between Thursday and Saturday last week 80% of Australians back the federal government's health plan. At the same time there has been a small deterioration in the standing of the Prime Minister and support for Tony Abbott is up.

We don't have access to the Nielsen questionnaire, so it is difficult to gauge what it is exactly about the health plan that the public supports. The media report says:

"The thrust of Mr Rudd's health reform plan is for the Commonwealth to become the dominant funder of public hospital and health services. The poll finds 79 per cent of voters back this approach. In NSW support is the strongest at 85 per cent."

Which may not mean that they are really supporting more funds for health, not the government's plan at all. We'll do our own polling later this week to try to get a better handle on this. With a bit more distance between the poll and the announcement there might well be a more differentiated view.

The poll gives Labor 53% of the two-party preferred vote (down 1%) and Kevin Rudd's approval rating is down 3% to 57%. Abbott's approval rating is 50%. However Rudd is comfortably ahead on the question of preferred PM by 57% tp 35%.

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