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As voters head to the polls on July 2, the editors of ACM have come together to nominate the local and national issues of most importance to their local readership.
Here’s what they said:
From Courtney Greisbach
The Advocate
On July 2 we Coasters have an important decision to make. We must elect the person who will represent our region for the next three years and Senators that will represent our beautiful state.
We want people in those positions to truly represent our views, values and most importantly our needs in order to grow and develop as a region.
Jobs has been a hot topic for the wrong reasons for many years. The downturn of the mining industry, the plight of our farmers and exit of key industries such as Caterpillar left many without work.
Families made tough decisions - to stay, work abroad, or leave.
With the right people representing us, those who did leave will come back. Those who stayed will see the light at the end of the tunnel.
For the North-West and West Coast we need:
- Investment and support to assist businesses to expand and grow, in turn creating and maintaining jobs;
- Investment in education, in particular the University of Tasmania’s Cradle Coast Campus relocation; and
- Investment in supporting our local tourism destinations. For far too long Cradle Mountain has attracted international visitors with little effort. Imagine the possibilities for our tourism industry if we added some polish by updating the site.
We need strong leaders who will be a loud, clear and effective voice for our region.
From Simon Tennant
The Examiner
Health, education and economic management I are the most important issues affecting our readers.
Also, there is a need for bipartisan support for our uni relocation - only Labor has so far committed funding for it although the Liberals are expected to as well. We desperately need funding for a secondary sewerage treatment plant in Launceston, but funding for that project (about $280 million) hasn't been forthcoming.
Unemployment is a major problem for all Tasmanians, but particularly the North, which has the highest in the state. Youth unemployment is a major issue as well.
And more recently, health has come under the spotlight with some major staffing issues affecting the Launceston General Hospital's emergency department, which in turn directly affects patients. Any cut to health funding would greatly affect this.