SYDNEY: Australia`s Prime Minister Julia Gillard is lagging behind the opposition in key states, putting August 21 elections on a knife-edge, fresh opinion poll analysis showed on Wednesday.

The latest Newspoll assessment gave Gillard`s Labor Party a narrowed 51-49 percent lead over the Liberal/National Coalition, which is enjoying a strong advantage in the mining states of Western Australia and Queensland.

The aggregated surveys of 3,429 voters indicated the conservative opposition stands to win 16 new seats in Queensland and New South Wales alone, putting it within a whisker of the 17 needed for victory.

"It is now possible that Labor could win the most votes on a national basis but still lose enough seats to be put out of office," said The Australian newspaper, which published the poll.

The study was collated from two Newspoll surveys released this month, including one on Monday which gave Gillard a slightly bigger lead of 52-48 percent.

Gillard`s Labor dominated polls after its 2007 election win but slipped in recent months under ex-prime minister Kevin Rudd, whose ousting in a June party coup also concerned voters.

BDST: 9:22 HRS, August 11, 2010