As part of a national survey conducted by Australian Community Media, the publisher of this masthead, Tasmanians were asked to identify the top issues that would win their vote at the next election.

Solutions to an overstretched healthcare system overwhelmingly came out of the mouths of the people who responded to the survey, with health ranking the most important issue facing Tasmanians.

Rounding out the top three were climate and environment and cost of living, with many respondents calling on the federal government to intervene and address spiralling house, rents, fuel and grocery prices.

The Examiner has crunched the numbers and analysed from industry and community bodies what our candidates in the marginal seat of Bass need to do to win the hearts and minds of Tasmanian voters this election.

Want to have your say on what is important to you this election? Take our survey:

After four years of COVID-19, health spending is expected to be high on the priority list, an issue that was reflected in a poll of Northern readers, which along with health, identified the environment and climate change and the cost of living as the top three issues likely to determine their vote in 2022.

In the North-West of the state, health was again the top issue with environment and climate and aged care was also important issues for voters.

For Tasmania, a state with an ageing population, some of the country's highest rates of smoking, obesity and chronic illness, few would be surprised that fixing the gaps in the healthcare system ranked number one in both the North and North-West.

Advocates and industry stakeholders have long called for action to address shortfalls in health infrastructure, aged care, rural health, staffing and access to general practitioners, and with the election expected to be called any day now have outlined the issues both parties must address at this year's election.

For respondents of the survey, the message was simple "fix healthcare."

Climate change advocates in Tasmania were unsurprised with the result in the poll, saying voters had finally realised that climate change would affect everyone.

Launceston student Gabrielle Dewsbury, who will vote in a federal election for the first time this year, is a former organiser of the School Strike for Climate and said the issue would be how she decided on who to vote for.

"People are starting to realise that climate change is not just an environmental issue, but it's a health issue and an economical issue as well," she said.

Miss Dewsbury said climate change affected was a significant contributor to declining human health, due to the impact of things like floods and fires, which could allow bugs and viruses to flourish.

TasCOSS chief executive Adrienne Picone said affording the essentials had become increasingly difficult for Tasmanians in the last year, with housing, health, transport, education, and recreational costs all rising at a rate exceeding general wage increases.

"TasCOSS is looking to the next federal government to pull every lever at its disposal to tackle poverty and inequality in our state and support Tasmanian households struggling with rising cost of living pressures during these testing times," she said.

Ms Picone called for the Commonwealth to raise income support payments to at least $70 per day, to help Tasmanians cover basic costs and live with dignity.

"Tasmania has a higher proportion of people receiving income support payments, resulting in more Tasmanians than ever finding it impossible to afford rent, food, healthcare, keep a car on the road and pay for other essentials," she said.

What do you think? Send us a letter to the editor: