Currumbin cliffhanger
Preferences expected to decide marginal seat in state poll
NEW polling shows the seat of Currumbin on the Gold Coast will be a cliffhanger with the result in the October state poll to be determined by preferences from One Nation and the Greens.
The Australian Conservation Foundation has funded surveying of residents in the marginal southern Coast seat along with two other marginal electorates – Aspley in Brisbane and Mansfield in Victoria.
Research company YouGov has surveyed voters about attitudes toward the state’s economic recovery from COVID and the relevance of climate change and investment in renewable energy.
“The upcoming state election is looking close,” the report to the ACF said.
In Currumbin, the voting intention is 37 per cent for Labor, 37 per cent for the LNP, the Greens on 10 per cent and One Nation on 4 per cent.
The two-party preferred vote is 50.8 per cent Labor to 49.2 per cent LNP, a 2 per cent swing to Labor. This is the first publicly released data on Gold Coast seats released in the campaign in the leadup to the October 31 election.
In March at a by-election, after the retirement of Currumbin MP Jann Stuckey, the LNP’s Laura Gerber won on a two-party preferred vote polling 51.48 per cent compared to 48.52 for Labor’s Kaylee Campradt.
Ms Gerber secured 43.7 per cent of the primary vote,
Ms Campradt polled 38.3 per cent.
Sally Spain from the Greens polled 10.9 with Nicholas Bettany from One Nation receiving 6.9 per cent.
But researchers for ACP warned the two-party preferred figure in their polling should be taken with caution and excludes the 10 per cent who answered don’t know. The key findings were:
● Almost half of Currumbin voters (47 per cent) say
Queensland is not doing enough to combat climate change.
● A quarter (21 per cent) say Queensland is doing enough and a fifth (20 per cent) believe that climate change is exaggerated.
● 54 per cent across the three seats agree that they would be thinking about climate change when they vote, with just over a quarter strongly agreeing (28 per cent).
● Younger voters (18-39) are more likely to list climate change unprompted (25 per cent).
As voters reflect on the economic recovery from COVID-19, almost threequarters agree that Queensland should focus on creating jobs in climate change solutions.
Two-thirds of voters agree that transitioning Queensland to a clean energy economy will help reduce household energy bills.
ACF campaigner Jason Lyddieth said climate change remained a “top concern” for voters despite economic downturn and the coronavirus crisis.
“A significant number of Queenslanders believe the state is not doing enough on climate change and want the government to prioritise new renewable projects,” he said.
“Two-thirds of voters support an economic recovery plan that creates jobs in climate solutions.
“ACF’s recent report ‘Renewable Energy and Jobs in Queensland’ shows there is huge opportunity to create jobs for Queenslanders while acting on climate change.”