THE GREENS yesterday warned the major parties to take note of a weekend poll that indicated the party already had the votes, in Bass, to sway the federal election result.
The EMRS poll published in The Sunday Examiner gave the Greens 16 per cent of the Bass electorate federally even before they formally announce their candidate.
Although the result would not see the Greens win a seat in their own right, it is already enough for the major party that profits from the Greens' vote cut-up to take the closely contested electorate.
Tasmania's two senior federal Greens MPs seized on the poll as a strong endorsement of the party and its state election result which augured well for the federal poll.
The specially commissioned EMRS poll on federal voting intentions of people in Bass indicated that Labor and the Liberals, both of whom have endorsed candidates, would take 35 per cent and 38 per cent of the vote respectively.
Endorsed Bass Labor candidate Geoff Lyons said that the poll result, which saw him lagging 3 percentage points behind Liberal candidate Steve Titmus, was "probably fairly accurate".
"I would think that I'd be the underdog at this stage," he said.
Mr Titmus said that the result indicated that people felt let down by Labor.
Federal Greens leader and Tasmanian Senator Bob Brown said that the poll was a reflection of people's dissatisfaction with the plan for a pulp mill.
He said that the result was also telling at a time when there was enormous potential nationally for an historic breakthrough in the forest industry debate.
Tasmanian Greens Senator Christine Milne said the result reflected a quantum change nationally towards the party.
"Around Australia we are polling at between 9 per cent and 12 per cent which is up from our usual 7 to 8 per cent - and Tasmania always polls better for us than other places around the country," Senator Milne said.
"People are getting sick of the other parties and are looking to the Greens who are committed to action on climate change and to get a resolution on forestry."
Senator Brown said that the Greens had deliberately waited to select its Tasmanian federal candidates to give people time to breath after the March state election.
It is expected that unsuccessful state Bass Greens candidates like Peter Whish-Wilson and Jeremy Ball will seriously consider the federal election as another opportunity to raise their profile.
Mr Whish-Wilson said yesterday that it was too early for him to make a decision while he had full- time university work commitments but he would give it some thought if the election was later in the year.
Mr Ball could not be contacted.
Senator Milne said that the selection process for candidates was under way and she expected a Bass candidate to be announced soon.
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