Our source close to Prime Minister Julia Gillard said to The Stringer there are those within the Office of the Prime Minister, the Prime Minister included, and within her Cabinet who believe that they have every chance of winning the September 14 election.

Julia Gillard – Photo, news.com.au

Every poll nationwide portrays either a decisive or catastrophic defeat for the Australian Labor Party come September.

But the Office of the Prime Minister has gone heavy into campaign strategies since late last year according to our source. These include not just make overs for the Prime Minister but the commissioning of their own polls and surveys. 

“We have put together our own questions (for surveys) which cut straight to the nitty gritty. Despite dissatisfaction surveys, our questions are not what voters feel about how the Government is perceived to be performing and instead we are asking do they believe there is any chance they may be voting Labor (on September 14).”

“And when we focus on this important pitch well the results are indicative that we are in there with a big chance.”

“We have been buoyed by the results and we have kept them a closely guarded secret but we’re now less than 20 weeks away.”

“It is unquestionable that all the polls out there depicting a wide gap between us and the Coalition and it is indisputable this is because of dissatisfaction but it is also indisputable that as we get closer to ballot day so will the so called great gap between to contract, it’s usually the way.”

“(Prime Minister) Julia (Gillard) believes she is in with a chance, and a good chance, she actually thinks she is going to do a (Paul) Keating (1993) and defeat them (the Coalition).”

“Wayne (Swan) is ditto too. Bill (Shorten) is a believer. Not everyone though, not everyone in the Office (of the Prime Minister) or in Cabinet are equally as positive despite our internal polling but well the polls have always mattered. How you ask the questions is the key.”

On March 18 Labor minister Bill Shorten said he believed that the ALP could win. 

“In the 2010 election, Julia Gillard did better than Tony Abbott, at the next elections Julia Gillard will do better than Tony Abbott,” he told reporters in Canberra.

Our source said Labor ministers are buoyed by the handling of the NDIS reforms and that they see the public perception of the success of the implementation of these reforms “as washing away the media laws debacle.”

Before parliament pulled up last year for its long end of year summer hiatus Prime Minister Julia Gillard fired the salvo to the Coalition leader Tony Abbott, “I will beat you.”

Our source said that the ALP has an advertising campaign ready to tackle head on anything thrown at them by the Coalition. Sadly, some of it will obviously be at attacking each other. The ALP’s advertising campaign will include positives about various reforms but will also focus on Julia Gillard as “a powerful and resilient leader, as tough as they come, and who can see off anything, even if it means we sell the message that she fought off Labor heavyweights like Simon (Crean), Kevin (Rudd), one mutiny after another and of course she’s seen off Abbott once and that her track record of winning is thus far unblemished and we will capitalise on it.”

“The message will be she’s been in the trenches, one battle after another and this is who we need on the world stage.”

“With the internal polling, with reforms coming in, with carefully managed media, and with (an advertising) blitz all readied this is why (Prime Minister Julia Gillard) believes she will win.”

In 1993, it came as a bit of surprise to Paul Keating that he won, despite anything he may say now but all polls showed he was up against it. He had a farewell speech prepared. Deputy Leader Julia Gillard had her ascension speech prepared weeks before Prime Minister Kevin Rudd was ditched.