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The Quebec Liberals have solidified their lead in the polls on the eve of Thursday's leaders debate, according to a new poll which suggests that Philippe Couillard's party has opened a five point lead over the Parti Quebecois with the April 7 election just 18 days away.

The poll, released late Wednesday afternoon, has the Liberals leading with 37 percent against 32 percent for the PQ while the Coalition Avenir Quebec is at 16 percent, Quebec Solidaire 10 percent, Option Nationale three percent and others three percent.

The results factor in the 12 percent of voters who described themselves as undecided.

The Ipsos Reid poll, the result of 810 interviews conducted on line between March 14 and 18, suggests that referendum talk has hurt the PQ, as 72 percent of Quebecers surveyed said that they believe that a vote for the Parti Quebecois is a vote for a referendum, an impression likely buttressed by star candidate Pierre Karl Peladeaus recent passionate declaration in favour of separation.

The PQ lead among francophones has plunged to just nine percent, as Pauline Marois party has 38 percent of francophone support, while 29 percent of francophones would vote for the Liberals, 18 percent for the CAQ and 12 percent for Quebec Solidaire.

Eighty percent of anglophones surveyed support the Liberals, while only six percent would vote for the Parti Quebecois and eight percent would vote for various other parties.

Liberal voters appeared more determined than others to actually cast ballots on April 7. Almost two thirds of Quebecers replied that nothing short of an emergency could stop me from getting to the voting booth and casting my vote. Liberal supporters were more likely to agree with that statement, so if those numbers are considered an accurate barometer of voter turnout, Ipsos Reid calculates that the Liberal lead rises to 40 percent versus 33 percent for the Parti Quebecois.

The results suggest growing discontent with the PQ government, as over two thirds of respondents (67 percent) feel that Quebec is going in the wrong direction while only 33 percent replied that Quebec is "headed on the right track.

The Liberals have a 48 percent to 25 percent lead over the PQ on the island of Montreal, while the PQ leads in the suburbs 39 percent to 33 percent.

The PQ also has a lead in the Quebec City area, where 30 percent of voters are supporting Marois party against 27 percent for Couillards Liberals.

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New poll gives Liberals five point lead

Tasmanian public servants will be waiting months before the new government reveals where it will find $500,000 in budget savings promised during the campaign, and whether their jobs are safe.

The incoming Liberal Government has revealed it will not hand down its first budget until August, three months later than the usual May announcement.

Treasury spokesman Peter Gutwein says the party needs time to get its policies settled and incoming Labor governments have delayed their first budgets in the past.

While he is yet to be officially named Treasurer, Mr Gutwein is already planning a public sector jobs freeze when the new government takes power.

He says it will start hiring new police officers, school nurses and teachers in the coming financial year.

"I say it takes time for a budget to be re-written, we are not going to bring down a Labor budget, we are going to be bringing down a Liberal budget and we will be doing that in August this year," he said.

He says most departments will be instructed not to hire new public servants between now and budget day.

"We've made our position perfectly clear in regards to the way that we want to see the public sector managed," he said.

"And obviously it would be ridiculous if we were to allow a significant increase in employment numbers in the public sector over the next couple of months, and we'll be talking through those matters with both Treasury and the other departments when the ministry is sworn in."

Greens Leader Nick McKim thinks the Liberals could be planning more spending cuts.

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Liberals plan a three month budget delay to get their policies settled

A revolt is brewing in the ranks of the Country Liberals Government.

The ABC understands the Member for Namatjira, Alison Anderson, led a delegation of three backbenchers to a meeting with Chief Minister Adam Giles and there may have been a threat to quit the party.

The other backbenchers are the Member for Arnhem, Larisa Lee, and the Member for Arafura, Francis Xavier.

However, Ms Anderson denies the possibility of a split.

Talking to Julia Christensen on ABC local radio this morning, the Speaker of the Legislative Assembly, Kezia Purick, accused Ms Anderson of being divisive.

"If they are having a meeting with the Chief Minister, well, they are having a meeting," she said.

"What they ultimately decide is their business.

"If they wish to leave the CLP, then the seating in the parliament will be rearranged accordingly."

"What I am more concerned about, as the Speaker, is that the Member for Namatjira Alison Anderson is just using the parliament as a plaything, and that is just not acceptable."

Ms Purick lashed out at Ms Anderson for forcing a division on a vote in parliament.

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Country Liberals face revolt as NT Indigenous MLAs threaten to quit

The Quebec Liberal Party has a five-point lead over the Parti Quebecois ahead of the first debate of the election campaign, according to a new poll, which suggests voters have been put off by talk of a referendum should the PQ win a majority next month.

The CTV News/Ipsos Reid poll found that if an election were held tomorrow, Quebecs Liberals would receive 37 per cent support from decided voters compared to 32 per cent for the PQ.

The Coalition Avenir Quebec is far behind, with 16 per cent support among decided voters, while Quebec Solidaire would receive 10 per cent support. About 12 per cent of voters were undecided.

CTVNews.ca and CTV News Channel will carry the Quebec leaders debate Thursday at 8 p.m. ET

A vast majority of respondents, some 72 per cent, said that a vote for the PQ is a vote for a referendum on separation, the poll found. Thirty per cent of respondents said they are in favour of Quebecs independence, while 51 per cent said they are not.

Barely a third of Quebecers are in favour of sovereignty, the poll found.

The PQ was polling more strongly at the outset of the campaign, when talk was focused on the partys proposed charter of values, pollster Luc Durand told CTV News.

The PQs fortunes changed, he said, with the entry into the race of candidate Pierre Karl Peladeau, who immediately declared he is jumping into politics because he wants to see Quebec become a country.

The game really changed recently with the debate being less about the charter of values and more about the referendum, Durand said.

And I think because support for the referendum is very low, there are a lot of people who were afraid of this that moved consequently to the Liberals. But the PQ should have the objective in changing the conversation.

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Quebec Liberals hold five-point lead over PQ: poll

A revolt is brewing in the ranks of the Country Liberals Government.

The ABC understands the Member for Namatjira, Alison Anderson, led a delegation of three backbenchers to a meeting with Chief Minister Adam Giles and there may have been a threat to quit the party.

The other backbenchers are the Member for Arnhem, Larisa Lee, and the Member for Arafura, Francis Xavier.

However, Ms Anderson denies the possibility of a split.

Talking to Julia Christensen on ABC local radio this morning, the Speaker of the Legislative Assembly, Kezia Purick, accused Ms Anderson of being divisive.

"If they are having a meeting with the Chief Minister, well, they are having a meeting," she said.

"What they ultimately decide is their business.

"If they wish to leave the CLP, then the seating in the parliament will be rearranged accordingly."

"What I am more concerned about, as the Speaker, is that the Member for Namatjira Alison Anderson is just using the parliament as a plaything, and that is just not acceptable."

Ms Purick lashed out at Ms Anderson for forcing a division on a vote in parliament.

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Country Liberals face revolt as Indigenous MLAs threaten to quit