The poll was done with more than 1,000 voters in the Deputy Prime Minister’s New South Wales electorate as respondents. The constituents who took part in the poll conducted by The Australia Institute showed their support to clean energy such as solar hot water and home battery storage.
In a press release published on the website of The Australian Institute, Ebony Bennett, the Deputy Director of The Australia Institute stated, “Sixty percent of voters in New England think the Turnbull government should introduce a Clean Energy Target.”
Also, the poll determined that a majority blamed the Federal Coalition Government for the present uncertainty in energy policy. Bennett added, “Most, 33 percent in Hughes and 30 percent in New England, held the Federal Government responsible for the energy mess. Just 6 percent in Hughes and 8 percent in New England think the states are to blame. And when it comes to what the government should invest in, respondents in these two blue-ribbon Coalition electorates favoured renewables over coal, just like voters across the country, including in coal country.”
A report on the Energy Matters website presented a summary of the results for every category that was included in the poll:
- Clean energy target – 59.7% believed that the Government should present a Clean Energy Target while 24.1% voted no, and 16.2% said they were unsure.
- Present energy uncertainty – 30% of the respondents think that the Federal Government should be blamed for the current energy uncertainty while 8% thinks the state governments should be the ones responsible.
- Energy investment type – Majority of the respondents (50.6%) responded that the government should invest in renewables, 36.7% preferred coal, and 12.7% were uncertain.
The support for renewables, including solar panel and wind installations, was steady across age groups. Females also favoured clean energy investment more than the male respondents.
Read the full report here.
