Last week, we wondered how the Labor Party’s sudden shake-up might affect its dismal poll numbers. In what’s known as a “leadership spill,” Labor voted to oust Prime Minister Julia Gillard in favor of backbencher Kevin Rudd. Interestingly, this was a reprise of similar events almost exactly three years ago when Gillard prevailed over Rudd, who was then prime minister.

Although Rudd is not considered especially popular among his party members in Parliament, pundits noted that he seems to enjoy greater popularity among the electorate, even eclipsing Coalition opposition leader Tony Abbott. Of course, some of that sentiment is attributed to sympathy for Rudd having been unceremoniously dispatched from the prime ministership back in 2010.

The latest polling data suggest that Labor made a shrewd move. On June 23, a Newspoll survey of more than 1,100 voters, conducted for The Australian, showed that the Coalition opposition enjoyed a virtually insurmountable lead of 16 percentage points over Labor.

But a follow-up poll on June 30 showed that the change in leadership has revived Labor’s chances of prevailing on election day: On a two-party preferred basis, the gap between Labor and the Coalition had narrowed to just 2 percentage points, which is within the 3 percent margin of error.

Furthermore, polling data also confirmed that Rudd is indeed a much more popular figure than Abbott. When asked who would make a better prime minister, voters favored the former over the latter by 14 percentage points, with 16 percent of those polled undecided. Abbott had previously led Gillard by 12 percentage points, so that’s essentially a swing of 26 percentage points.

However, the electoral turnabout may not be nearly as dramatic as these data suggest. Australia uses preferential voting, which means that voters number their selections in order of preference. When the same poll is limited to just voters’ first preference, Labor trails the Coalition by a still substantial 8 percentage points.

Fortunately for investors, both parties seem to be in agreement on either scrapping or at least significantly altering the carbon tax, as well as the mining tax. Rudd has signaled that he’s open to shifting to a variable price for carbon emissions, as opposed to the present rate of AUD23 per metric ton of emissions. And Rudd is also looking to move forward on stalled free-trade negotiations with China.

Both policy changes show that Labor is keen to make inroads among voters who favor the Coalition when it comes to shoring up Australia’s resource-based economy. And assuming those words are backed by actions, that should be good news for investors regardless of who wins the election.

Although there’s been speculation that Rudd could take advantage of Labor’s momentum by moving the election forward from Sept. 14 to as early as mid-August, he’s indicated more recently that he hopes to implement some of these new policies before facing the voters.

That creates some near-term uncertainty, which the market tends to abhor. And the narrowing gap between the two parties increases the odds of a hung Parliament, where neither party achieves a majority, unless a ruling coalition can be cobbled together. A hung parliament would almost certainly make governing more difficult, which could result in the status quo in some key areas.

But for now, the Coalition’s lead still appears wide enough to hand it a victory.

The Roundup

Here’s when AE Portfolio Holdings will report their next sets of financial and operating numbers. Some have “confirmed” dates, while for others we’ve provided an “estimate.”

For most, this will cover the full fiscal year ending June 30, 2013. We’ve noted for others that report on a different schedule the period to which the announcement pertains.

Conservative Holdings

• Aberdeen Asia-Pacific Income Fund (NYSE: FAX)–N/A (fund, reports holdings on a quarterly basis)
• AGL Energy Ltd (ASX: AGK, OTC: AGLNF, ADR: AGLNY)–Aug. 21, 2013 (estimate)
• APA Group (ASX: APA, OTC: APAJF)–Aug. 21, 2013
• Australand Property Group Ltd (ASX: ALZ, OTC: AUAOF)–July 24, 2013 (2013 H1, confirmed)
• Australia & New Zealand Banking Group Ltd (ASX: ANZ, OTC: ANEWF, ADR: ANZBY)–April 30, 2013 (FY 2013 H1, confirmed)
• Cardno Ltd (ASX: CDD, OTC: COLDF)–Aug. 13, 2013 (estimate)
• CSL Ltd (ASX: CSL, OTC: CMXHF, ADR: CMXHY)–Aug. 21, 2013 (estimate)
• Envestra Ltd (ASX: ENV, OTC: EVSRF)–Aug. 22, 2013 (estimate)
• GPT Group (ASX: GPT, OTC: GPTGF)–Aug. 12, 2013 (2013 H1, estimate)
• M2 Telecommunications Group Ltd (ASX: MTU, OTC: MTCZF)–Aug. 26, 2013 (estimate)
• Ramsay Health Care Ltd (ASX: RHC, OTC: RMSUF)–Aug. 22, 2013 (estimate)
• SMS Management & Technology Ltd (ASX: SMX, OTC: SMSUF)–Aug. 14, 2013 (estimate)
• Telstra Corp Ltd (ASX: TLS, OTC: TTRAF, ADR: TLSYY)–Aug. 8, 2013 (confirmed)
• Transurban Group (ASX: TCL, OTC: TRAUF)–Aug. 6, 2013 (estimate)
• Wesfarmers Ltd (ASX: WES, OTC: WFAFF, ADR: WFAFY)–Aug. 15, 2013 (estimate)

Aggressive Holdings

• Amalgamated Holdings Ltd (ASX: AHD, OTC: None)–Aug. 22, 2013 (estimate)
• Ausdrill Ltd (ASX: ASL, OTC: AUSDF)–Aug. 28, 2013 (estimate)
• BHP Billiton Ltd (ASX: BHP, NYSE: BHP)–Aug. 21, 2013 (estimate)
• GrainCorp Ltd (ASX: GNC, OTC: GRCLF)–May 16, 2013 (FY 2013 H1, confirmed)
• Mineral Resources Ltd (ASX: MIN, OTC: MALRF)–Aug. 15, 2013 (estimate)
• Newcrest Mining Ltd (ASX: NCM, OTC: NCMGF, ADR: NCMGY)–Aug. 12, 2013 (estimate)
• Oil Search Ltd (ASX: OSH, OTC: OISHF, ADR: OISHY)–Aug. 12, 2013 (2013 H1, estimate)
• Origin Energy Ltd (ASX: ORG, OTC: OGFGF, ADR: OGFGY)–Aug. 22, 2013 (estimate)
• Rio Tinto Ltd (ASX: RIO, NYSE: RIO)–Aug. 8, 2013 (2013 H1, confirmed)
• Spark Infrastructure Group (ASX: SKI, OTC: SFDPF)–Aug. 26, 2013 (2013 H1, estimate)
• Woodside Petroleum Ltd (ASX: WPL, OTC: WOPEF, ADR: WOPEY)–Aug. 21, 2013 (2013 H1, estimate)
• WorleyParsons Ltd (ASX: WOR, OTC: WYGPF, ADR: WYGPY)–Aug. 28, 2013 (estimate)