Hunter voters want the Federal Government to do more on climate change and have a strong preference for renewable energy over fossil fuels, a national survey of federal electorates has found.
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The YouGov poll of more than 15,000 voters, conducted for the Australian Conservation Foundation (ACF), revealed a groundswell of voters prioritising climate change as a key election issue in response to longer droughts and heat waves, bushfires and damaging floods.
It found 67 per cent of voters believed the government should take stronger action on climate change, including a majority in all 151 national seats.
Hunter voters' opinions were generally consistent with the wider population.
The survey revealed 58 per cent of the voters surveyed in the Seat of Hunter, 63 per cent in Shortland, 68 per cent in Newcastle and 59 per cent in Paterson said climate change was an important consideration in their voting preference.
Likewise, 64 per cent of the voters surveyed in Hunter, 64 per cent in Shortland, 71 per cent in Newcastle and 64 per cent in Paterson said the government should do more on climate change.
Hunter Jobs Alliance spokesman Warrick Jordan said community sentiment in the Hunter was more complex than a simple pro or anti coal debate.
"The results of the poll aren't surprising, and there is more to this than the political aspect," he said.
What is most important here is what governments do about the inevitable changes in energy production that are affecting regional communities, positively and negatively.
"Half-decent policy needs to recognise the reality - there's a consistent majority who want to see more done on climate change, but for others it's a lower order priority. People keep telling us they have had enough of the hot air and want politicians to focus on dealing with the reality of change"
Shortland MP Pat Conroy said voters in his electorate overwhelmingly supported strong action on climate change.
"If we do not, we will miss out on new jobs and industries, face carbon tariffs on our existing industries and see the crippling economic damage of bigger floods, storms and bushfires," he said.
'People want the government to commit to Net Zero Emissions. Labor has already committed to this and announced the $20 billion Rewiring the Nation Fund and $15 National Reconstruction Fund to modernise the grid and grow new manufacturing industries in things like battery manufacturing and electric vehicles."
Hunter MP Joel Fitzgibbon, whose electorate employs a significant proportion of people in the coal mining and power generation industries, said he was not surprised by the survey findings.
"I'm a strong supporter of the net-zero emissions target. That's why I'm so pleased that in the Hunter we are leading the country in renewable energy development," he said.
"But it doesn't mean we have to unnecessarily forsake other opportunities including the ongoing strength of the coal mining sector.
"This is not a debate about one or the other."
Regarding Australia's evolving energy mix, 34 per cent of those surveyed in Hunter, 26 per cent in Shortland, 29 per cent in Newcastle and 32 per cent in Paterson were supportive of fossil fuels in the energy mix.
Nationally, 71 per cent of voters do not see coal and gas as part of Australia's future energy mix, with a majority in every seat rejecting plans for the government to build new gas and coal-fired power plants, such as the proposed gas-fired peaker plant at Kurri Kurri.
"The poll shows Australians reject the government's gas-led recovery," ACF Chief Executive Officer Kelly O'Shanassy said.
"Australia is a diverse nation but united in our desire for climate action.
"It's time for the Morrison government to get on with building clean industries and jobs for Australians and cutting climate pollution this decade."
The survey also found one-in-two (57 per cent) of Coalition voters in regional NSW and 67 per cent in metropolitan electorates want Australia to reach net zero emissions before or by 2050.
Eighty two per cent of Labor voters in both regional and metropolitan electorates want Australia to reach net zero emissions before or by 2050.
The poll used multilevel regression with poststratification (MRP) analysis for the first time in Australia, after the technique's success in predicting the results of the 2019 British election.
The MRP tool combines census data such as population density, education and household income with polling data to construct an estimate of how issues would play out in that specific geographical area.
It allows for the poll to be broken down by electorates as well as demographics in a statistically reliable way.
"MRP is based on the understanding that people with similar characteristics behave in similar ways and it allows us to paint a much more detailed picture using our polling data," YouGov Associate Director Ben Oxenham said
"This substantial poll shows that there are a range of factors that contribute to voters' attitudes to climate change action, as well as where they live."
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