AAP
Prime Minister Kevin Rudd has claimed underdog status for Labor in elections in South Australia and Tasmania this weekend that he suggests will go down to the wire.
Premier Mike Rann takes on Liberal Isobel Redmond in South Australia in a battle that some believe could see Labor turfed out after eight years in power.
In Tasmania, Labor Premier David Bartlett is facing a tight contest against Liberal leader Will Hodgman in a ballot that could leave the state with a minority government and the Greens holding the balance of power.
While both campaigns have been fought on state issues, federal politicians will be keeping a keen eye on the outcome in this likely election year.
A change of government in either or both states could also have serious ramifications for federal Labor, which is negotiating with the premiers over its health and hospital reform program.
Mr Rudd lauded the achievements of both Mr Rann and Mr Bartlett but acknowledged Labor's length of government - eight years in SA and 12 in Tasmania - could work against it.
"Both these state governments ... are good governments but because they are long-serving Labor governments they will go in to these elections as the underdog," he told reporters.
"Both these elections this weekend are likely to go down to the wire."
And if Labor loses either poll, the Rudd government is eager to play down its federal significance.
Foreign Minister Stephen Smith told ABC radio the community was smart enough to differentiate between state and federal issues.
"Australians have always made a difference between their judgments about state and federal," he said.
"When people talk about political shifts or momentum, I have a very strong memory that when John Howard was in office for a long period of time, Labor states occupied the terrain almost universally."
That difference didn't stop Deputy Prime Minister Julia Gillard trying a last minute intervention on Friday, claiming SA Liberals couldn't be trusted on workplace relations.
"The SA Liberals yesterday released their two-page industrial relations policy where they announced they'd remove one in three private sector workers from the national Fair Work laws, potentially subjecting them to SA-based Work Choices style laws," she said in a statement.
