Liberals enjoy polls boost as Jeremy Rockliff remains preferred premier

The state government has arrested a long steady decline in the opinion polls with a two point bounce in the latest EMRS survey.

THE state government has arrested a long steady decline in the opinion polls with a two point bounce in the latest EMRS survey.

The Liberals were the preference of 41 per cent of those surveyed in August, up two points from the June survey.

Support for the governing party had steadily declined from a high of 54 per cent in August last year to 39 per cent last month.

The result reflects sentiment during early August when parliament was suspended following the departure of Minister Jacquie Petrusma.

Labor was up one percentage point to 31 per cent, support for the Greens steady at 13 per cent and support for other parties dropped from a recent high of 18 per cent by three percentage points to 15 per cent.

Jeremy Rockliff was the preferred premier among 47 per cent of respondents, the same as the last poll, while Rebecca White recorded her fourth successive increase to 35 per cent.

EMRS managing director Paul Jamrozik said the results showed a clear preference among respondents.

Premier Jeremy Rockliff speaks to the media at the University of Tasmania's Sandy Bay campus on Tuesday, August 23, 2022.

“These latest results are encouraging for the Liberal government and for Jeremy Rockliff, particularly at a time when economic pressures on households and businesses are increasingly being felt,” he said.

“Although down from the 49 per cent recorded at the last State election and through to December 2021, at 41 per cent currently, Tasmanians have remained steadfast in their support for the Liberal Government over Labor by a significant 10 percentage points.”

And he said althogh it was down from the highs enjoyed by his predecessor Peter Gutwein during the height of the pandemic, Mr Rockliff was a popular leader.

“This 47 per cent figure represents a 12 point lead over that recorded for Rebecca White, who

saw only a marginal one point rise as preferred Premier since June to 35 per cent currently. “We see here further confirmation of the steadiness of the support for the government and its

leadership,” he said.

“EMRS suggests, however, that there is no room for complacency.

“The parties, leaders and candidates on all sides of the political spectrum will need to be alert to potential economic downturns for Tasmanians that may be reflected in changing voter support levels over the coming months.”

The latest poll of 1,000 Tasmanian adults was conducted from the August 8 to 11.

Labor on the attack over power prices - August 18

LABOR has accused the state government of being more interested in building a football stadium than helping Tasmanians cope with the soaring cost of living.

In Parliament on Thursday, Labor leader Rebecca White accused the government of being out of touch with the needs of ordinary Tasmanians.

“Your priorities are so wrong that late last week even a federal liberal member for Bass denounced your plan,” she said.

“How can you expect Tasmanians to believe you can’t afford to cap power prices in the middle of a cost of living crisis but you can afford to spend $750 million on a floating stadium in Hobart.”

Labor Leader Rebecca White at Parliament. Picture: Chris Kidd

Mr Rockliff’s response began with a taunt to the Labor leader over her party being under the federally-appointed administration of former senators Nick Sherry and Doug Cameron.

“I know what the Labor priorities are and I know that Nick and Douggie, if they are watching this Question Time, I don’t think they wrote that question,” he said.

On Tuesday, the state government announced an additional $5m in funding to be shared among providers including Neighbourhood Houses, family assistance programs, food relief and Aurora Electricity’s hardship program.

There was also money to extend school lunch programs ignore 30 more schools and $150,000 more for the No Interest Loans Scheme.

Mr Rockliff said the government’s package had been welcomed by the community sector and read out a media release to that effect.

“This package, including the NILS loan scheme provides support for cost of living increases

for Tasmania,” he said.

Premier Jeremy Rockliff at Parliament. Picture: Chris Kidd

Labor’s Dean Winter accused the government of suggesting people take out loans to cover their power bills.

“Earlier this week, he told Parliament he had extended the No Interest Loans Scheme (NILS) to support people who are finding it difficult to pay their power bills,” he said.

“What Premier Rockliff did not mention was that NILS loans can only be used to pay for utilities by people fleeing family violence.

“Today, the Premier was again unable to explain how his own Government’s policies work.

In trying to spin what NILS would cover, he has caused confusion and mislead Tasmanians about the support available to them.”

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