One in four NSW voters have nominated health and hospitals as the most important issue in deciding how they will vote in next year's state election, a new Fairfax/Ipsos poll reveals.
In the poll, 26 per cent nominated health and hospitals as of primary importance, ahead of education (17 per cent) and jobs and employment (13 per cent).
These were followed by managing the state's finances (10 per cent), coal seam gas and mining (8 per cent) and law and order (7 per cent).
The poll suggests the environment (6 per cent), public transport and roads (5 per cent each) and local council mergers (1 per cent) are ranked by voters as issues having the least influence on how they will cast their ballot.
Female voters were more likely than men to be concerned about health and hospitals (34 per cent compared with 18 per cent) and education (21 per cent compared with 14 per cent).
Male voters were more likely than women to be concerned about employment (16 per cent compared with 10 per cent) and coal seam gas and mining (10 per cent compared with six per cent).
Coalition voters were more likely than those supporting other parties to name financial management and law and order as significant issues.
The poll also asked voters whether roads or public transport should be the greater priority of the NSW government.
Overall the results were almost evenly split, with 45 per cent nominating roads and 49 per cent public transport.
Sydneysiders were more likely to see public transport as a priority than those elsewhere in the state (56 per cent compared with 36 per cent).
But the situation was reversed for roads, with 60 per cent of those living in the rest of the state nominating them as more important, compared with 37 per cent of Sydneysiders.
Roads were of more importance to Coalition voters (55 per cent), while ALP voters (51 per cent) and Greens voters (80 per cent) nominated public transport as a higher priority.
