It's a tale of two cities in Launceston - and Malcolm Turnbull got a taste of that when protesters ambushed him at an expo.
As soon as the prime minister stepped out of his car to visit a small business fair in the Tasmanian city on Friday he was met with a small group of demonstrators protesting school funding, penalty rates and other issues.
There were members of the United Voice union, Gonski backers and a man in a paper-mache bobble head lampooning local Liberal MP Andrew Nikolic.
Inside, it was a different affair with cheese makers, eel exporters, and arts types keen to show their wares to the visiting prime minister.
He quickly walked past shouts and jeers and launched straight into the meet and greet indoors.
Mr Turnbull used the visit to spruik the coalition's $150 million commitment to relocating the University of Tasmania's northern campuses.
He also pledged $7.5 million to improve the city's CBD to make it more accessible for students, workers, tourists and locals.
They're election sweeteners to woo the key marginal seat of Bass, which is on a tight four per cent margin.
Tasmanian Liberal senator Richard Colbeck says the political contest has been intense and Friday's protesters were an example of that.
However, he suspects they're not locals but have been flown in from the mainland.
"This would be the most intense and probably the most aggressive campaign in terms of some of the advertising I've seen in my time," Senator Colbeck told AAP.
The attacks have gone personal against Mr Nikolic, he said.
"I've not seen that in Tassie before. It's really quite nasty."
But the expo demonstrated what Tasmania was all about - small business people developing "cracker" product, the senator stressed.
Mr Turnbull said there was only one party backing small business, emphasising the coalition's company tax cuts.
"There's never been a more exciting time to be a Tasmanian," he said, recycling a favourite line.
