The government of Nathan Rees was given a boost today from punters, following a series of ‘shock and awe’ tactics by the Premier on the floor of the ALP’s state conference.

Labor’s odds to retain government at the next election shortened from $4.00 to $3.80 after a number of bets were placed on them at Sportingbet Australia.

The controversial moves, which saw Rees ridding his cabinet of Joe Tripodi and Ian Macdonald, has been seen as an effort to ‘stop the rot’ and also has the Premier’s odds shorten to lead the party to the next election. Without fickle ‘king-breaker’ Tripodi in Cabinet, punters have read this as a plus for the Premier, cutting his odds back to $3.25.

Carmel Tebbutt is seen as the obvious danger and is equal favourite alongside the Premier at $3.25 Meanwhile odds on previous favourite Kristina Keneally have blown out the gate following the unceremonious exit of her political patron, Tripodi. Keneally is now paying $5.00.

Sportingbet Australia CEO Michael Sullivan said that the Premier’s decisive seizing of the Cabinet selection process and his crackdown on political fundraising have been interpreted as a sign that the government is willing to take risks and make sacrifices as it attempts to become electorally competitive.

“Punters seem to be telling us that they are considering taking the Rees Government seriously, after a long period of questioning who was really running the state,” said Mr Sullivan. “We’ve certainly seen a few punters getting behind Rees and his team today,” he said. “Some are even backing him to hold onto the leadership, which is a big call given he’s hung his enemies out to dry on the backbench, where they’ll be free to resume plotting his downfall.”

Meanwhile the Coalition’s odds to win the next state election have drifted slightly to $1.25 although they remain red hot favourites.

STATE ELECTION
Sportingbet Australia Market

Labor $3.80
Coalition $1.25

ALP LEADER AT NEXT NSW STATE ELECTION
Sportingbet Australia Market.

Nathan Rees $3.25
Carmel Tebbutt $3.25
Kristina Kenneally $5.00
Frank Sartor $5.00
Any Other $6.50
Michael Daley $13.00
John Robertson $13.00
Verity Firth $26.00