VOTER polling has put Independent Member for Mount Gambier Troy Bell ahead of Liberal candidate Craig Marsh in the battle for the city’s state seat.
The Reachtel poll – commissioned by the Australian Forest Products Association – was undertaken on Tuesday and reached 1250 people.
Results show Mr Bell with 36.3pc of the primary vote against 28.5pc for Mr Marsh.
Polling in the seats of Mount Gambier and MacKillop also found almost two in every three respondents will vote for the party and candidate that best support the state’s forestry industry and almost nine in 10 recognised the industry’s importance to the local economy.
Mount Gambier SA-Best candidate Kate Amoroso had not been announced when the poll was compiled and neither had candidates for Labor, the Greens and the Australian Conservatives.
In this regard, polling questions for Mount Gambier referred to “a SA-Best candidate”, “a Labor candidate” and “an Australian Conservatives candidate”.
AFPA chief executive officer Ross Hampton told The Border Watch yesterday the poll clearly shows the major parties and candidates contesting the forestry-rich electorates of Mount Gambier and MacKillop must support growth in the region’s forest industries.
“Forest industries contribute $2.8b to the South Australian economy and employ more than 13,000 South Australians, most of them in the South East,” he said.
“It is thus not surprising that voters in this region recognise the significance of the sector to the local community.
“The community’s message to candidates and major parties is loud and clear – support our forest industries if you want our vote.
“And as the poll shows, the question of who will be our next premier could well be decided by these electorates.”
According to the poll, almost half (48.8pc) of respondents believe Liberal Opposition Leader Steven Marshall will make a better premier, well clear of Nick Xenophon (29.5pc) and current Labor Premier Jay Wetherill (21.7pc).
In Mount Gambier, 69pc of the 655 people polled responded they were “more likely” to vote for a candidate or political party with policies that support the Mount Gambier electorate’s forestry industries.
The MacKillop poll reached 615 people with Liberal candidate Nick McBride receiving 56.7pc of the primary vote against the 15.8pc of SA-Best candidate Tracy Hill.
“A Labor candidate” came third with 12.1pc.
Answering the question “being undecided, to which party do you have even a slight leaning towards”, 60pc of respondents answered in favour of Mr McBride with 20pc for Ms Hill.
The poll coincides with the launch of AFPA’s South Australian election policy blueprint which urges parties and candidates to commit to a $77m 10-point plan that will double the economic value of timber manufacturing in South Australia, drive
innovation and create thousands more regional jobs in forest industries in the South East.
