A hard-fought battle and a tight contest was played out in the seat of Bass three years ago, when Liberal contender Bridget Archer stole the seat away from Labor's Ross Hart.
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A re-match is set to go ahead this year as the two seasoned campaigners go head-to-head in the Battle of Bass, which is a marginal set the Liberals need to keep to win another term as a majority government.
University of Tasmania political analyst Richard Herr said it was too tight to make any predictions, but said he believed Bass was the Liberal's seat to lose.
"If Labor want to win [majority government] they really need to pick up a few more seats in New South Wales and Queensland, but the Liberals, if they lose Bass, then it really could be all over for them," he said.
The campaign trail over the past few weeks has centred on Tasmania, with both Prime Minister Scott Morrison and Labor Leader Anthony Albanese spending multiple trips campaigning and announcing funding promises for Bass.
Bass' marginality means it often gets significant funding pledges, as opposed to its moderate counterparts, but what remains to be seen is if those promises come to fruition, regardless of who resides in The Lodge.
Professor Herr said neither Albanese nor Morrison was unpopular enough that Bass would swing largely one way or the other, but polls suggested the current government was "on the nose".
However, he said Ms Archer's performance during her term, when she crossed the floor twice to vote against her own party on issues such as a federal anti-corruption watchdog and the cashless welfare card would hold her in good stead.
Ms Archer said she wasn't concerned about the popularity of the Prime Minister with regard to her campaign or her chances for re-election.
"The Prime Minister has to balance the needs of all the electorates, neither of us would be doing our jobs properly if we were in agreement all the time," she said.
"The Opposition likes to say that a vote for me is a vote for Scott Morrison, but that's untrue. A vote for me is a vote for the people of Bass."
Professor Herr said Mr Hart had the advantage of being a seasoned campaigner - and someone who has held the office before.
"He has enough sway in the party to bring the leader to the electorate and make funding commitments for Bass.
The Bass electorate encompasses the City of Launceston, and the local government municipalities of Dorset, George Town, West Tamar and Flinders Island.
It was named in honour of George Bass, who was a surgeon, scientist and explorer, responsible for early geographical investigation of the Australian Coast,
Bass' explorations include the islands in the Bass Strait, the Tamar estuary, the Derwent estuary and Mount Wellington.
WHO ARE THE CONTENDERS?
Liberal MHR Bridget Archer is the sitting member in the seat of Bass. She is a former George Town mayor and has championed the issues of that area and the wider Bass electorate.
During her term, Ms Archer said she was proud to have delivered funding commitments to support the move of the Family Court in Launceston, along with the establishment of the Head to Health mental health facility, also in Launceston.
Ms Archer has been known to be a tenacious Member for Bass, who wasn't scared to stand up for her electorate or her convictions - which was evidenced in two instances where she crossed the floor to vote against her party.
Her initial instance was when she abstained from voting on the cashless welfare card, and later on the lack of debate on a federal integrity commission.
This was reflected in polling showing her strong popularity in the notoriously fickle electorate, which an elected incumbent has not retained since Labor in 2001.
Ross Hart is back again as Labor's endorsed candidate, a decision which he said was made nearly immediately after his defeat.
A lawyer who has been practising for more than 30 years, Mr Hart said he thought it was time Bass had a change of federal leadership.
He said he aligned strongly with the ideals of the Labor Party and was pleased that he had the support of Anthony Albanese to potentially represent the people of Bass once again.
Other candidates include George Razay (Independent), a former Australian of the Year and renowned dementia specialist, Bob Salt (Jacqui Lambie Network), Cecily Rosol (Greens), Alison Baker (Animal Justice) and Stephen Humble (Liberal Democrats), Kyle Squibb (United Australia) and Melanie Davy (One Nation).
HOW DID IT PAN OUT LAST TIME?
It was a tight race between Labor's Ross Hart and the Liberals newcomer Bridget Archer and in the end it was about 500 votes that separated the two.
Mr Hart conceded the defeat by phoning Ms Archer on May 19, when 81 per cent of the vote was counted, with the Liberals were enjoying a 5.8 per cent swing in their favour in Bass. Mr Hart was voted out after one term in office.
Professor Herr said Bass had been a marginal seat for the last few elections, but had the tendency to swing wildly, if mitigating factors were at play.
A good example of this was the Bass by-election in 1975, which resulted in a shock loss by the Gough Government of the time.
The loss of Bass is widely reckoned as the beginning of the end for Gough Whitlam, whose government was dismissed from office six months later.
WHAT ARE THE KEY ISSUES FOR BASS?
Major issues in the electorate unique to this election are issues that are facing wider Australia, but Bass voters remain concerned about housing, health and cost of living.
Ms Archer said she was focused on federal policies that would give long-term solutions to issues such as healthcare and cost of living.
"We know these issues are often complex, and involves the work of a lot of different players," she said.
Taking aim at recent Labor policies around the Tamar River and the Launceston General Hospital hospice announcement, Ms Archer said she was not about knee-jerk funding promises, despite Bass being a marginal set.
"We owe it to our community to make sure that when we say these things that there's depth to it," she said.
She said the Liberals would look at how to reduce the crush on the emergency department by examining why people present in the first place, and provide housing support through the provision of more houses for the market.
Mr Hart said Ms Archer had had plenty of time to deliver on commitments she'd made in 2019 and 2020 and it was disappointing so many of them had stalled.
He pointed to the Mowbray Recreation Hub and the Albert Hall as examples.
The poll will take place on May 21.
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