Media release from The Wilderness Society THE WILDERNESS SOCIETY VICTORIA MEDIA RELEASE November 15, 2014 Labor voters want Great Forest National Park 84% of Labor voters in marginal seat of Eltham support park proposal Poll shows 89% of Victorians support the proposed new national park Sir David Attenborough and hundreds of businesses support park. Polling this week shows that the Great Forest National Park is a vote winner for Victorian Labor in the key state seats of Eltham and Prahran. “The Great Forest National Park has been backed by the vast majority of Victorians, the Royal Society of Victoria, Sir David Attenborough and hundreds of local businesses,” said Wilderness Society Victoria Campaign Manager Amelia Young. “Now we know that for Labor to hold and attract votes in the key state seats of Prahran and Eltham they need to back the Great Forest National Park proposal. “Polling shows 84 per cent of Labor voters in the marginal seat of Eltham support the creation of the Great Forest National Park. (See attached poll results.) “The poll also shows that in Eltham and Prahran eight out of 10 voters say parties’ positions on the environment influences their vote. “Labor would be mad not to back this proposal that has the support of 9 out of 10 Victorians, according to other recentpolling. “More people visit forests for their beauty and for a nature experience than they do for logging. “Environment groups care about regional employment. That’s why we’ve put forward a plan to attract investment in regional towns still recovering from the impacts of the 2009 bushfires. The Great Forest National Park is at the heart of this plan. “The Great Forest National Park proposal will not only secure jobs at Australian Paper in the long term but generate more new jobs in regional Victoria. Part of the Wilderness Society’s Great Forest National Park proposal is an industry modernisation plan that will actually secure the 900 jobs at Australian Paper’s Maryvale paper mill in the La Trobe Valley.” For further comment contact: Wilderness Society Victoria Campaign Manager Amelia Young on 0404 074 577 For more information, contact Wilderness Society media adviser Alex Tibbitts on 0416 420 168 ReachTel survey results for key seats at November 29: Prahran and Eltham Undecided voters: In Prahran, poll shows 12% of undecided voters are leaning towards Labor. In Eltham, 45% of undecided voters are leaning towards Labor. Support for Great Forest National Park among Labor voters in these seats: 62% of Labor voters in Prahran support the creation of the Great Forest National Park. In Eltham, a massive 84% of Labor voters support the creation of the Great Forest National Park. The seat of Prahran is being hotly contested by Liberal, Labor and the Greens. The poll showed a primary vote of 23% for the Greens in Prahran. An announcement from Labor to create the Great Forest National Park would help persuade these voters to preference Labor. Indeed, 42% of swinging Labor voters in the seat of Prahran said that a Park announcement would help secure their vote. In Eltham a massive 52% of potential Labor voters in Eltham say that a Park announcement would help secure their vote. The announcement of the Great Forest National Park would only help the Labor vote in this key seat. This is reinforced by poll results showing 92% of Labor voters in Eltham saying environmental and conservation issues help decide their vote. The poll also shows that in Eltham the Greens primary vote has increased by 9%. Given that Labor and Liberal have thus far made very similar commitments on public transport and roads in this district, this poll suggests that a Great Forest National Park announcement will help ensure that Greens preferences continue to flow to Labor. Importance of environmental and conservation issues: In both electorates, environmental and conservation issues equally influence the vote for 8 out of 10 people (79% in Prahran and 80% in Eltham). -- Alex Tibbitts National Media Adviser The Wilderness Society Inc. Suite 402, 64-76 Kippax Street Surry Hills NSW 2010 0416 420 168
Posted on: Sat, 15 Nov 2014 21:33:55 +0000