The city “vibrancy” agenda can win Premier Jay Weatherill the next election, says veteran political strategist Bruce Hawker.

The policy has a broad appeal that stretches beyond the city, engages young people, and can lend a sense of freshness to a government that’s been in power for more than a decade, Hawker believes.

However, some mayors are not convinced that the city-focused agenda will mean much to people in their council areas.

Weatherill has made a vibrant inner city one of his key priorities since taking the reins of government in 2011. His cabinet has driven reforms to liquor licencing laws, laneway upgrades, a forthcoming live music strategy and new creative hubs, as well as Government investment in the Riverbank precinct.

While the policy has drawn some criticism from the State Opposition for diverting attention away from other areas such as the economy, Hawker – who was former PM Kevin Rudd’s key strategist during the federal election – says it could be a winner.

“If you’ve got a really exciting agenda for revitalising the inner city, then you will get people who will vote on the basis of that. Particularly young people – they do tend to be disconnected from it,” Hawker told InDaily.

“If it’s an issue that people in Adelaide are really crying out for, then it can be big enough. It’s a question then of how they sell it, and what the Opposition’s saying about it as well.

“People do tend to treat the inner city differently; it’s like common ground for everybody who comes to the city and sees it as part of their daily or weekly life.

“But it’s not going to be the be-all-and-end-all of any policy, nor would I expect that it would be.”

It was the sort of youth-oriented policy that might revitalise an incumbent government in the eyes of voters, Hawker said.

“It would be an important policy that would go to them saying ‘we’ve got new ideas, we’re not just an old government, and this is a demonstration of the new ideas we can bring’.

“But they will have to go beyond that, and I’m sure they would intend to go beyond that.”

But Hawker cautioned it wasn’t a policy that would sell itself.

“You need to go out and sell it, and sell it hard. A lot of people will need to be convinced that that’s relevant to their experience, their needs. So it’s not a policy which will just sell itself.

“But it’s the sort of thing which can essentially break down into bite-sized chunks. We’re going to do this here, we’re going to do that there.

“It’s going to mean more business for small businesses – which is always a big area for Labor.”

The vibrancy strategy focuses on the city, but its real political test may be how it effects voters in suburban electorates.

Two suburban mayors told InDaily they felt the vibrancy agenda had only had a limited impact on people living within their council areas.

“Those people aged up to about 40 who are not tied up with young kids certainly appreciate that there’s an element of social activity that’s tied up with the vibrancy agenda, and that it creates opportunities for people to interact,” Unley Mayor Lachlan Clyne said.

Unley covers parts of the marginal ALP electorate of Ashford and the safe Liberal seat of Unley.

Clyne said he didn’t think vibrancy would sway votes in Unley.

“The issues that people are most focussed on right now are the cost of living issues. I think it’s certainly appreciated, but when it comes to casting a vote it’s not going to be a reason why people choose to vote for one party or another.”

City of Marion Mayor Felicity-ann Lewis said she didn’t expect vibrancy would be a major vote-winner in her council area, which covers a swag of marginal Labor seats.

“Those that go to town and enjoy the coffee shops and Leigh St and the activation, certainly I think you can probably say they’ve enjoyed that. Has it brought anything more to Marion? No.

“We don’t have high numbers of young people. The demographic in my city, certainly in the northern part, is an aging population.

“Our younger population … certainly they go to the city for entertainment and for bright lights, but whether that agenda would be enough for them to actually decide to vote in a particular way I don’t know. I’d say it would probably be more what’s affecting them locally.”

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