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 Survey reveals continued voter indecision, volatility ANALYSIS with TONY McCALL 

Survey reveals continued voter indecision, volatility ANALYSIS with TONY McCALL

14 Mar, 2010 12:00 AM
TEN days out from the poll, The Examiner's State House of Assembly Voting Intentions research report prepared by EMRS revealed a continuing confused picture of voting intention.

No party is trending to take the government benches.

The single most important observation to make on a trend- line analysis is that there remains too much volatility and uncertainty to draw conclusions.

What can we take from the poll?

Trend-lines in voting between February and March have remained steady across statewide voting intentions: Labor 21 per cent (-2 per cent), Liberals 29 per cent (-1 per cent) and Greens 22 per cent (same).

However, at an electorate level, uncertainty and undecided voters are making the monthly comparison highly volatile.

Removing undecided voters from the polling reveals volatility in a number of electorates between February and March.

Labor for instance has improved its vote by 7 per cent in Braddon and 5 per cent in Denison but its vote has collapsed in Franklin by 5 per cent to its lowest statewide electoral vote of 27 per cent, threatening its chances of securing two seats.

The Liberals have increased their vote in Franklin by 5 per cent but have lost 7 per cent in Lyons. This puts them tantalisingly close to three seats in Franklin (41 per cent) but not enough to feel it is probable. They would need a vote of 47 per cent to feel certain of a third seat. In Lyons, 38 per cent will still secure two seats but in February 42 per cent meant that three was an outside chance.

The Greens have increased their vote in Bass by 4 per cent, lost 5 per cent in Braddon, lost 4 per cent in Denison and gained 3 per cent in Lyons. This volatility is part of the conflation that will take place in some electorates for the Greens as polling gets closer, especially in Braddon and Lyons.

The EMRS analysis suggests that there is such a level of uncertainty in this poll that the Labor 9, Liberal 10 and Greens 6 scenario in February is reduced to Labor 8, Liberal 9, Greens 5 and two seats in Denison and one in Franklin remaining too hard to call.

There is nothing in this poll that would make me change my analysis following the February poll: Labor 9, Liberal 10 and Greens 6.

I remain just as certain that this is unlikely to be the result on March 20 but some additional information provided in this poll has made me reconsider the potential volatility of the Green vote.

A significant number (40 per cent) of young people - under 25 - indicated they will be voting Green. Young people are not easily persuaded to change their mind.

A political assault on the Greens in this last week could prove counter-productive.

The Green vote could hold up and deliver five seats, perhaps two in Denison or one in Braddon.

With that in mind, 10 Liberal, 10 Labor and 5 Greens is one outcome or 11 Liberal, 11 Labor and 3 Greens if the Green vote collapses in the last week.

This poll would suggest that only the Liberals have any chance of securing the majority government mandate of the gang of four ex-premiers.

Don't expect Michael Field and Paul Lennon to endorse the Liberals this week - both will be working hard for the Labor camp. Messrs Gray, Field, Rundle and Lennon are entitled to their views, but only ours will count on March 20.

Make sure your vote is your vote.

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