The Examiner's Joe Colbrook and Paul Scambler ventured out to Longford and Campbell Town to hear what voters in Lyons - Tasmania's largest electorate - have to say about the 2025 state election. Video by Paul Scambler
00:01We've been travelling through lines to get a sense of what Tasmanian voters feel about the upcoming state election.
00:07We've asked them their thoughts on being sent back to the polls so soon after the previous state election,
00:12which issues, if any, matter to them as voters, and how they might vote come polling day on July 19.
00:22It doesn't particularly worry me that we're back having to vote again,
00:27but it just seems to me we won't necessarily have candidates that will change anything.
00:33I really don't care if we've got a hung parliament or such.
00:38I think it might be a good idea to have a bit of different people, groups with different ideas.
00:45It's a bit too divisive.
00:48Yeah, yeah. So who did you vote for?
00:50I went for the red rather than the blue.
00:53Right, okay.
00:54And that's the way I've always voted, frankly.
00:58I've not looked directly into the election yet, but I did see this morning a classmate of mine,
01:05who was just a year younger than me, is running this year.
01:09So it's interesting. There might be a bit of nepotism there, but they were pretty level-headed.
01:14So we'll see.
01:15So red, blue, green?
01:19A bit on the red side, I think.
01:20A bit on the red side.
01:20Look, I'll be towards anyone who's willing to say no to a stadium, personally.
01:28Maybe someone who is willing to do something about homelessness and the actual problems here,
01:35not just, you know, oh, we won a footy team.
01:37Lyons is the state's largest electorate.
01:42It covers an area of more than 30,000 square kilometres.
01:46Its boundaries go from Launceston's city limits to the north,
01:50all the way down to Hobart's outskirts in the south,
01:53from the east coast to the central highlands.
01:55It's jointly named for former Prime Minister Joseph Lyons and his wife, Dame Enid Lyons,
02:01and as of the 2024 state election,
02:04had three Liberal MPs, two Labour MPs,
02:07one Greens MP and one Jackie Lambie Network MP,
02:11who has now turned Nationals.
02:13Do you have anyone in mind who you're going to vote for, party members?
02:16Not particularly.
02:17Not particularly.
02:18I'll have to look into it.
02:19Are you leaning more towards one of the major parties or independents at this stage?
02:24Probably independents.
02:25I'm usually independent.
02:27Yeah, yeah.
02:27Why this time in particular going for independents?
02:33I don't know.
02:34I just give the little guys...
02:35Sometimes I have better policies as well.
02:39And what issues really matter to you?
02:45I think that we should...
02:49I'm at a loss for words.
02:54I do think homelessness is a problem.
02:57I think the logging industry is more important than what people think it is.
03:04Can we go on the...
03:05Renewable energy.
03:10Those kinds of things.
03:12So do you feel as though any of the major parties offer, I guess,
03:16a comprehensive platform under the lines of what you're on?
03:18Everything can go on five seconds.
03:21I'm not sure.
03:22They've all got good policies and then they've got ones that I completely disagree with.
03:26So it's quite hard.
03:28So I guess that probably did take you more towards independence then?
03:30Yes, yes.
03:31Sorry, I've never had that.
03:32I think it's irrelevant, really.
03:36Total waste of time.
03:37We've sort of done this 12 months ago and now we're back doing it all again.
03:40Yeah, yeah.
03:42I mean, do you feel as though the rapid election is enough to change your vote from what it was last time?
03:49No, I don't think so.
03:50No, not at all.
03:51So you're going to still be voting with the same party you voted for last time?
03:53I think so, yes.
03:54Or independent candidates?
03:55Well, I just might sit on the seats and see what happens.
03:58Yeah.
03:58Get my name crossed off and see what happens.
04:01What issues really matter to you as a voter, man?
04:03Hospitals, aged care, putting in some nursing homes, putting some money back into education for the children, but mainly health.
04:12Health is a big thing in Tasmania and that needs to be rectified somewhere along the line.
04:17I guess, I mean, the stadium, I don't know about that one really.
04:22We've got a great York Park, great in the north, but whatever happens will happen, I guess.
04:29Yeah, yeah, so the stadium itself is not really an election issue for you?
04:32No.
04:32No, no, just as long as it goes into health and put their money in the right direction, I guess.
04:39At the northern end of the electorate sits Longford, and here the mood ranged from apathetic to quite impassioned.
04:48Given it's only been about 14 months since the last state election, how are you feeling about being sent back to the polls again?
04:55I guess it's pretty annoying.
04:56Annoying?
04:57Yeah, perfectly inconvenient.
04:58Yeah, it's a bit frustrating, yeah.
04:59Is it annoying enough to change how you vote, perhaps?
05:04Not really.
05:06I work in healthcare, so anything pro-healthcare and more money into the health system sounds good to me.
05:13And, I mean, so you've answered what issues matter to you.
05:15I'm guessing it's healthcare.
05:16Would childcare also be an issue?
05:18Yeah, definitely, childcare and healthcare, yeah.
05:20Do any of the parties or even any of the independents offer a healthcare or childcare platform that is going to swing your vote come July 19th?
05:28To be honest, I haven't really looked into it much. I did vote Labor last time, but yeah, I haven't looked into it much. I've still got a couple of weeks.
05:39Making up your mind when you get to the ballot.
05:41Yeah, yeah.
05:42How do you feel about being sent back to the polls so soon after the last state election?
05:46Well, I think it's just a total waste of time without, like I said before, unless there's a referendum, it's pointless.
05:54Because we'll be back in the same situation.
05:56No matter who gets in there, there'll still be, there'll be no, no real go ahead without the public saying, well, yes, we want a stadium or no, we don't want a stadium.
06:07So you think that a referendum on the stadium is needed?
06:10Well, at least the question should be asked, right?
06:13In mind, the Greens have got too much power.
06:15Really? Yeah.
06:16And I think we'd be far better off without, with less of them.
06:19Maybe a couple there just to keep that environmental side of it things going, but as far as Greens having power, definitely not.
06:28So you'd like to see fewer Greens in Parliament next time around?
06:32Fewer independents too?
06:33Possibly.
06:34Well, at least you've got to have a majority.
06:36You've got to have enough people there to get a majority.
06:38Well, there's not going to be a majority no matter what, in my opinion.
06:41And when it comes time to vote on July 19, any particular party that's going to get your vote at this stage?
06:49No. Oh, well, probably the same crowd that's already there, but it's not going to be a majority, is it?
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