FRANKLIN ELECTORATE Patricia Chavasse, 79 Lindisfarne LONG-TIME VOTER

Patricia Chavasse was a conservative voter when she cast her first vote as a 21-year-old. But her political views changed after moving to Tasmania from Scotland 45 years ago.

The 79-year-old, who votes in the Franklin electorate, says she’s disillusioned by “the empty promises” made by politicians.

“I’d have been a conservative in Scotland and I’ve swung around to voting Labor and Green,” says Chavasse, whose two children and six grandchildren live in Tasmania.

“I’d vote for a woman first, Green and then Labor after that. I probably changed my vote 10 or 15 years ago, but I was swinging that way for a long time.

“I’m disillusioned about the lot of them. [The Prime Minister] Scott Morrison looked so smug when he delivered the budget, and then Labor came along and promised all this money to Tasmania. [Labor leader] Bill Shorten has offered Mona how much? A huge amount of money. And yet people are still sleeping on the streets.”

Chavasse had high hopes for former Labor leaders Bob Hawke (1983-91) and Julia Gillard (2010-13). “I thought Bob Hawke was going to be wonderful until he went off with [Blanche d’Alpuget] and left poor old Hazel.

“I thought he was for the people. Julia Gillard did well. I would have kept her on,” she says.

She has no respect for politicians such as One Nation Senator Pauline Hanson and Tasmanian Senate candidate Jacqui Lambie. “No-one can take Pauline Hanson seriously, surely … and I won’t vote for Jacqui Lambie because she’s a loose cannon.”

Though she likes the Greens, she’s “not madly keen” on the party’s leader, Richard Di Natale.

“I just don’t think he comes over terribly well on the telly,” she says.

As a long-time voter in the Franklin electorate, living for many years near Cygnet in the Huon Valley and now in Lindisfarne, Chavasse says she likes the Labor Party’s candidate, incumbent Julie Collins, who is Shadow Minister for Ageing and Mental Health.

“I have great respect for Julie Collins. She keeps calm and is professional, and she’s not jumping up and down and promising millions she hasn’t got,” says Chavasse.

Health and climate change matter to her. Just over a year ago, Chavasse was involved in a serious car accident in which she suffered multiple injuries including broken ankles, a broken leg and a ruptured stomach. She spent months at the Royal Hobart Hospital. She supports major party proposals that will reduce the cost of healthcare.

“Bringing down the price of medication is important,” she says. “Everyone worries about health. Giving more people cheaper drugs and medication will help poorer families.”

Politicians must also act on climate change, she says. “Climate change is hugely important and surely it’s now something every party must look at. They’ve swept it under the carpet for years but it’s in our faces now. It’s indisputable.

“I feel worried for future generations. This is the country I have given my children and grandchildren to inherit.”

Although Chavasse is less mobile since her accident, she says the media keeps her informed about politics.

“I watch the news in the evening and then usually turn off the television. I read the Mercury,” she says.

“I respect the way the political system works in Australia. I will do my postal vote sitting at the table. I vote below the line because I have plenty of time.”