DAMIEN BROWN, Mercury
TASMANIANS will be bombarded with scare tactics about minority government, a leading political analyst said yesterday. Antony Green said the ploy worked for Labor in 2006 and would be repeated in 2010.
Commenting on the EMRS poll on voter intentions, he said he doubted the Liberals would win enough seats to govern in their own right.
“So it is up to Labor to try and win back that support and I think that is going to see the Greens become the whipping boy for the campaign to achieve that,” Mr Green said.
“[Labor] has been hit with so many problems with resignations, it’s been very hard for them to recover, even with David Bartlett offering a new image.
“What will start happening is the campaign starting to focus on who will govern and the majority power play will start to come into play.”
Premier Bartlett confirmed yesterday he would follow his predecessor Paul Lennon’s lead in 2006 and play the minority card.
“I am going to work every possible day between now and March 2010 to demonstrate to Tasmanians that a majority Labor government is the best option for building a strong Tasmania,” Mr Bartlett said.
EMRS pollster Tony Hocking said he believed Labor was running out of steam.
“I think Tasmanians just see them running out of credible people in government as they lose ministers and MPs,” Mr Hocking said.
“I think this should serve as a wake-up call to the Government and this election will come down to the quality of the candidates.”
Liberal leader Will Hodgman said the resounding win in the Upper House seat was a powerful indication of voter sentiment.
“The best opinion poll in my view is this one in Pembroke because it shows that when people actually go and cast their vote they are prepared to vote Liberal,” he said.
“It gave people the opportunity to actually cast their vote and decide whether or not they wanted more of the same from a Labor Government that is more fixated on its own internal problems and less about governing the people of Tasmania.”
Greens leader Nick McKim said the results showed Tasmanians expect all parties to work hard to earn their support.
