Labor queers the pitch

… In Tasmania, Liberal leader Will Hodgman has widened his lead as preferred premier in the local EMRS poll, but must deal with the challenges of multi-member electorates and the Greens to take the job. “The Liberals are a much more professional operation than they have been,” The Weekend Australian was told.

The ALP is understood to be cashed up thanks to the union movement, but the real decider will be the Greens.

“There’s this myth about the Greens that they don’t have any money, but they’re rolling in dough,” one source said.

“They’re basically an upper middle class party.”

There is talk in Tasmania that Dick Smith and the reclusive multi-millionaire founder of the Kathmandu clothing chain, Jan Chapman, will help fund the Greens campaign.

But there is keen interest in whether property developer Lang Walker will become involved after the planning commission knocked back his bid for a Gold Coast-style canal development at Hobart’s Ralph Bay.

Richard Herr, from the University of Tasmania, says Labor will have difficulty holding on to a majority.

“The more likely option seems to be a minority government with the Greens holding the balance of power,” Dr Herr says, along with warning that “Labor has queered the pitch with the Greens”.

A Liberal victory in the smallest state will be little compensation for an expected loss in Victoria. …

On Tasmanian Times: The Bonham Analysis: Labor fails to stop the rot