Labor stalwart Dick Adams has some advice for whoever wins Lyons this Saturday: You might have to buck the party line to keep the seat.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
Polling predicts the marginal rural electorate will be the only Tasmanian seat to change hands.
Mr Adams was the member for 20 years, and was one of only three MPs to hold the seat between 1946 and 2013.
Labor candidate Brian Mitchell and Liberal incumbent Eric Hutchinson will face off on Saturday, in what is shaping up to be the race to watch.
Mr Adams said he had expected it to be a tight contest.
Lyons takes up half of Tasmania, stretching from Port Sorell to Port Arthur.
He said the size posed a challenge, and the future member would have to travel a lot throughout the electorate.
“You have to be organised so you can give good representation,” he said.
“You do have to work long hours, and you have to work hard.”
Mr Adams said polling booths in Southern areas such as New Norfolk, Brighton and Sorrel would be crucial on election day.
“You’ll find that Eric has spent a fair bit of time in those areas in the last two years,” he said.
“Understanding where the movement is, where the concerns are and where the issues are is so important.
“You have to be sensitive to those things.”
Mr Adams said Lyons MHRs would be rewarded from voters for taking on the tough issues, “but if you just mouth the Canberra line you’ll be punished”.
“You might have to buck the line,” he said.
“They want you to take up the issues that are their issues and not necessarily the Canberra line.”
Mr Adams said the rates dispute between the Northern Midlands Council and the Launceston Airport was a big issue for the area.
He said whoever wins the seat should set up a Parliamentary inquiry into the matter.
“There’s some secret deals that have been done in Victoria and other parts of Australia between airport corporations and local councils and they haven’t been made public,” he said.
“Rate payers have a right to know why rates are not being paid by airports.”
Mr Adams said NBN, health and jobs were also key issues.
He said that while Labor took too long to get answers on the NBN, copper was yesterday’s technology and voters were aware.