Oakeshott rejects poor poll results

SYDNEY, Aug 25 (AAP) - Key crossbench MP Rob Oakeshott has rejected a local newspaper poll that suggests his support is plummeting, arguing the editor is an employee of the federal coalition.
The Port Paper in Port Macquarie ran an exclusive poll this week, which stated that Mr Oakeshott's primary vote had fallen from 47 per cent in August 2010 to just 14.8 per cent as of Tuesday.
The three-question survey took in the views of 448 residents in Mr Oakeshott's electorate of Lyne.
Mr Oakeshott's response on Thursday was brief.
"The editor of The Port Paper is still on the Australian parliamentary staff list as an employee of the National Party's Luke Hartsuyker," he said in a statement.
"Accordingly, along with referrals to the New South Wales Electoral Commission and the Press Council, anything written by this paper, which only began in March 2011, will not attract a response from my office."
A spokesman from Mr Hartsuyker's office later denied the editor was a current employee.
He confirmed to AAP that she worked for the opposition frontbencher up until April 26, but was not now on the payroll