Pokies, housing, hospitals and gun laws might have been the specific issues that dominated the campaign, but the decisive factor was Tasmanians’ enduring apprehension about minority government.
Hobart is a smaller city with big city problems that have become an election issue. Recent growth is creating traffic congestion that affects productivity, residents’ health and liveability.
In Hobart supporting the Tasmanian Greens ahead of the state election, Greens leader Richard Di Natale said ‘in one of our states, women are not getting access to safe terminations’. Is that correct?
Nick Xenophon says the proposals encapsulated in his party’s gambling policy for the South Australian election are just the start of a wider push for reform.
The Tasmanian Liberal party is promoting gaming industry estimates that ‘around 5,000 jobs’ would be at risk if poker machines were removed from pubs and clubs in Tasmania. Are the estimates correct?
Population growth for growth’s sake (as a proxy for economic growth), without consideration for the demands this creates might actually compromise Tasmania’s economy.
The polls are leaning towards the Liberals holding power in Tasmania, but the unpopularity of the federal Coalition government could help Labor get over the line.
Malcolm Turnbull says people won’t be casting a national vote until the due time of 2019 – although Labor is working on contingency plans for this year in case he changes his mind or is foxing.
PhD Candidate, Tasmanian School of Business and Economics, ARC Training Centre for Innovative Horticultural Products, School of Land and Food, University of Tasmania