As the election nears, the ABC spoke to older voters in the marginal electorate of Bass, in northern Tasmania, about what issues they care about. Health, education, the cost of living and gender equality were some of the top concerns.
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00:00Angus Greg and Phil Waddington are regulars at the West Launceston Bowls Club.
00:10They use bowler's arms, aware that they need to look after their bodies.
00:15And healthcare is top of mind for them at this election.
00:19One of my concerns is the waste of money on this stadium in Hobart, when all that money
00:24could be put into the hospitals because there's a long waiting time for hip replacements and
00:29things like that.
00:31As far as the Tasmanian hospital system goes, for me, I think it's absolutely wonderful.
00:40But Phil has private medical cover.
00:42A lot of people don't and then it's not as easy.
00:45Yes, I do have private medical cover and that probably makes a difference.
00:52Mr Waddington plans to vote for the sitting MP in Bass, Liberal Bridget Archer, who's being
00:57challenged by Labor candidate Jess Teasdale.
01:02Bridget was a politician that's true to what her beliefs.
01:11The Bowls Club wants politicians to commit funding for a synthetic green, which would be
01:15easier to play on and maintain.
01:18It's not just the exercise, you've got the social side, which is important when you're
01:23retired and you've got nothing else.
01:27A few suburbs over in Norwood, a group of women have gathered to pack birthing kits to
01:31send to women in developing countries.
01:34They're politically engaged members of the Zonta Club and Soroptimists, international volunteer
01:40organisations that advocate for women's rights.
01:42My biggest concern is climate.
01:46I have two grandchildren and I wonder what sort of a world they're going to inherit.
01:53In their own lives, they're witnessing the financial struggles many Australians are experiencing.
01:59We should not have homeless people.
02:01We shouldn't have kids who can't go to school because they can't eat properly.
02:05We shouldn't have parents who I deal with who go in and shop this food to eat and to sell
02:11it on because they don't have any money.
02:14They want to see kids taught about healthy relationships in school.
02:17When we look at family violence, the thing is, if we want better men, we've got to raise
02:22better boys.
02:23We do.
02:24Packing a lot of priorities into one Tasmanian electorate.
02:27Packing a lot of priorities, we've got to go to school.