POLICY WATCH: EYES TURN TO FEDERAL ELECTION
Spirit of Tasmania. Photo credit: Sean Scott
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federal election is due anytime between now and May, with all the pundits expecting we’ll all be rolling up to our local primary school for a democracy sausage some Saturday in either March or May. As always, Tasmania can expect more than our fair share of election attention over the next few months. The northern seat of Bass was decided by a mere 300 votes at the 2018 poll, so it will be among the most hotlycontested seats in the country. Braddon, the electorate of the North-West and West Coasts, along with the sprawling seat of Lyons, that covers nearly 10
60 percent of the island, are both considered marginal, meaning locals can expect a regular stream of visiting federal ministers and their opposition counterparts once our borders re-open. Tourism always features prominently in federal election campaigns in Tasmania; such is the importance of the visitor economy to the state, and especially the regional communities that make up those marginal electorate. Tourism announcements also make good media events in an election campaign and are usually broadly supported by the public. Over recent federal elections
