KEY POINTS:
The National Party has been installed as firm favourite to win this year's general election by Australian bookmaker Centrebet.
Centrebet today released odds for the election, with National paying A$1.47 ($1.69) for victory, against A$2.60 for Labour.
The bookmaker's political analyst Neil Evans said already the election was "the National Party's to lose".
National was well ahead in the polls and had early momentum off the back of leader John Key's speech earlier this week.
"Right now it seems Kiwi voters have lost faith with the Clark Government, especially after the bitter backlash from its electoral finance legislation.
"But there's a long way to go and we now wait for the betting world to have its say."
Evans said Centrebet had successfully predicted 144 out of 150 previous state or federal elections.
However, it failed to pick the correct result in the 2005 general election.
A day ahead of that election the bookmaker was paying A$1.65 on former National leader Don Brash to be the next prime minister, compared with $2.10 for Miss Clark.
In the end Labour pipped National by 2 per cent of the vote and went on to form a minority government.
- NZPA
