Can Liberal Tom White unseat Teal Kate Chaney to win back Curtin in the federal election?

ABC NEWS (Australia)

In Western Australia’s most affluent electorate, climate change was a decisive factor in helping to elect a Climate 200-backed independent. But this time the topic has been largely absent from the campaign of either Kate Chaney or her Liberal challenger in Curtin – as other, more pressing issues dominate discussions.

Transcript

00:00OK, let's go. What a beautiful morning.

00:05In the most marginal teal seat in the nation, campaigning gets underway early.

00:10Thank you so much.

00:13This electorate was Blue Ribbon Heartland Liberal for almost all of its existence.

00:18But it turned teal last election with Kate Cheney's campaign focused heavily on climate change.

00:24At this election, vote like our future depends on it.

00:28A lot of people popping by, giving us the special nod, saying that climate is a big motivator for them.

00:34During that campaign, about 60% of her ads on Facebook and Instagram mentioned the issue.

00:40This time, it's around 6%, a shift reflected among voters, including via ABC Vote Compass data.

00:48Everything has just got more expensive, harder to live.

00:51We don't do enough in this country. I don't think it's sustainable energy.

00:54For me, it would be education.

00:55Probably the cost of living.

00:57That's become a very immediate focus for people.

01:01But I don't think it changes the underlying need for good long-term thinking.

01:05Her challenger, former Uber executive Tom White, has also noticed climate becoming less of an issue.

01:11It is a public policy problem.

01:13But we have many public policy problems.

01:15And we can't be overly distracted by one thing at the expense of others.

01:19Traditionally a Labor voter, Kelvin Fewings, has felt his own priorities shifting.

01:23It's hard to worry about next week when you don't know about the next day, as a metaphor, you know.

01:27Millions of dollars is being spent trying to win this seat.

01:31A lot of it landing in the letterboxes of voters out there.

01:35Kate Cheney's material has really been focused on what she thinks she can add to the political debate.

01:40While the Liberals have had a little bit of that, they've also been trying to highlight what they see as the risk of electing an independent.

01:47It hasn't really surprised me that the Liberal Party has chosen to have a campaign that's really about billboards and personal attack ads.

01:54And I think that's exactly the sort of politics that people are sick of.

01:57I understand that people are tired of the negativity in politics.

02:01As the end of the race nears, both are also pitching their focus on the big issues.

02:08We've got these national challenges that we need to deal with, like housing and productivity, tax reform, climate.

02:15We don't have good answers to where the next tranche of economic growth is coming from in Australia.

02:19My prescription would be address that underlying challenge, attract investment to the country organically.

02:27An electorate accustomed to influence, hoping to hold some whichever way the election falls.

Category

Transcript

Recommended