Fresh polling shows 7 in 10 voters in next weekend’s Braddon by-election are more likely to vote for a candidate that supports North-West Tasmania’s renewable Forest Industries, Chief Executive Officer of the Australian Forest Products Association (AFPA), Mr Ross Hampton said today.
The Reachtel poll of more than 800 Braddon voters this week, commissioned by AFPA, shows the by-election is on a knife edge. With around 2400 people in Braddon either directly or indirectly employed by forestry, Mr Hampton said the by-election could be determined by the candidate with the best vision for North-West Tasmania’s Forest Industries.
“Thousands of families in North-West Tasmania rely on our industries and all of the candidates and political parties contesting Braddon need to commit to AFPA’s plan to grow our renewable industry and create hundreds of new jobs,” Mr Hampton said.
“This coming week candidates will need to tell the voters of Braddon whether they will back our industry’s plan for growth in North-West Tasmania.
“Our six-point plan will turbo-charge Forest Industries in Tasmania by driving new plantations that will create new timber manufacturing jobs, give certainty to our world-leading hardwood manufacturers that rely on our sustainably-managed native forests, and incentivise innovation and value-adding in timber and wood processing,” Mr Hampton said.
Key poll results include:
· 70 per cent of voters, including more than three quarters of those who are undecided, would be more likely to vote for a candidate or political party with policies that support North-West Tasmania’s Forest Industries.
· Almost 9 in 10 voters support Australia’s native forest timber industry.
· More than 3 in 4 voters believe Forest Industries are important to the local economy in North-West Tasmania.
“I look forward to support for Forest Industries across the broad political spectrum. They are incredibly important to the economic and social fabric of North-West Tasmania and our specific Asks need to be committed to, to ensure their vibrancy and longevity. This snapshot shows the sector cannot be ignored,” Mr Hampton concluded.
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