For each election, we try to get out and have some conversations with voters about the key issues they think will influence their vote.
This year we spoke with South Brisbane voters at our newest retail precinct, Montague Markets: maybe not a representative sample, but one we often don’t get to hear from in our growing West of Montague area.
Not surprisingly most people we spoke with seem not to get their news from social media, and a concerning number said they had no idea about, nor interest in, the election.
Those who did speak offered a range of issues of concern to them, often very local in scope.
A number of people raised infrastructure and roads. Jared is concerned about traffic congestion. Others mentioned the condition of roads and pedestrian safety. One person added the need for a bridge to connect to Toowong.
Jen said:
“I think that crossing the road at this end (Montague Markets) particularly, is horrendous. But there’s just no way to cross the street. When you’ve got pets and kids, it’s a nightmare. My daughter’s at the Kindy opposite Aldi, and it’s impossible to cross the street there – it’s so dangerous.”
For Marianne, a newcomer to Queensland, the key issue is health, particularly the handling of the COVID-19 crisis, which she thinks the Palaszczuk Government has done well. Ros also thinks managing health care in the COVID environment is key, as well as the post-COVID economic recovery.
Kylie, a Mental Health worker, wants to see more funding and staff in the mental health sector.
Jo, Helen and Zoe each separately said they are concerned about getting people back into work in the post-COVID economy, while Jared wants to see increased confidence to spend.
Ros’s partner wants to see a green or circular economy, “…particularly utilising waste to energy and recyclable products, so as to create more sustainable jobs.”
Education was the most critical issue for David.
Two people said they couldn’t decide because they are disillusioned with politics.
“Well, I don’t think I know which party I should vote for, because I see no vision from any government. And there is no sort of forward-looking view as to how the community should be structured, how we should want to live, what sort of things matter to us in terms of where we earn our money, how we work, our kids get educated,” one man said.
Stephanie, who works in property development, said she is passionate about the environment and would like to see more sustainable development.
Only one person mentioned homelessness, and while the environment was raised a couple of times, climate change, Adani and greenspace were not directly mentioned.
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