EMRS polling shows kunanyi/Mt Wellington cable car the top issue for Hobart City Council voters

MORE than 40 per cent of Hobartians who plan to vote in the council election have listed the proposed kunanyi/Mt Wellington cable car as a deciding factor in how they mark their ballot paper.

An artist’s impression of the proposed cable car on kunanyi/Mt Wellington.

THE proposed kunanyi/Mt Wellington cable car has emerged as a key issue for Hobartians as they decide how to mark their ballot papers in this month’s council election.

An EMRS poll of 548 people in the Hobart City Council area revealed 22 per cent of respondents would vote based on their opposition to the proposed cable car while 11 per cent would vote based on their support for it.

A further 10 per cent listed the proposed development as a key issue but said they were neutral on the project.

The poll, which allowed people to nominate more than one area of concern, also revealed:

TRAFFIC congestion and roadworks was a key issue for 25 per cent of respondents;

DEVELOPMENT and planning issues was a key issue for 18 per cent of respondents;

LEADERSHIP of the council was a key issue for 15 per cent of respondents; and

OPPOSITION to increasing building heights was a key issue for 14 per cent.

The EMRS polling followed results released on Thursday that showed only 548 of 2860 people polled said they planned to vote at all.

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Of those, 42 per cent were unable or unwilling to express a preference for who they would elect as Lord Mayor.

Damon Thomas, centre, speaking on low interest in local government elections with fellow candidates Tanya Denison, left, and Zelinda Sherlock in Elizabeth Mall. Picture: SAM ROSEWARNE

Those results prompted University of Tasmania public policy expert Kate Crowley to urge Hobartians to take local government elections seriously and drew together candidates Damon Thomas, Zelinda Sherlock and Tanya Denison to urge people to cast their vote.

Ald Thomas, who has nominated for Lord Mayor, labelled the Hobart City Council election “the most important in living memory”.

“We see your vote as a right of action, the right to determine and help shape our city, and we want people to get the envelope, fill it in, have a cup of coffee and put it back in the postbox before October 30,” Ald Thomas said.

The EMRS polling was the first opinion poll to be conducted in the Hobart Lord Mayor race.