By Violet Li
Cranbourne’s major pre-polling centre has seen a massive turnout on the first day of early voting.
Star News talked with voters on the spot on their perspectives on the election, and the major concerns revolved around housing unaffordability and the nation’s future energy path.
Voters from Cranbourne and the surrounding areas swarmed to the pre-polling centre at the 1st Cranbourne Scout Hall along the South Gippsland Highway on Tuesday 22 April.
Volunteers recalled that the long queue circled all the way to the service road at 9am in the morning, and the nature strip was packed with cars. The momentum waned gradually after the lunch break, but still, it took many voters an average of 20 to 30 minutes to get to the front.
Campaign signage of Holt and Bruce candidates was lined up in front of the polling centre. The only signage not present was Shane Foreman’s, the Family First candidate for Holt.
A couple from Lyndhurst shared that ever since the beginning of the campaign, they had been interested in Labor’s vision. Their go-to policy from the Labor has been Medicare and housing.
“The housing prices have been increasing a lot, and the bank interest as well, so much. Working hard just for the mortgage is too much. The medical expenses have increased so much. We have to spend so much money on the medicines,” the couple said.
“Hopefully, they will look into it.”
A female voter praised the organisation on the day, saying the voting was very well organised and straightforward. It didn’t take her long to vote, as she knew very well who she wanted to vote for.
The resident didn’t share who she voted for, but she said her major concern was how her children could get into the housing market.
“I think they should reduce some of the taxes for first-time buyers, also probably enable them to get not just the first home buyers grant for new builds, but for existing homes as well,” she said.
She talked about the negative gearing and believed it should not be removed.
“Negative gearing will stop people buying houses. It may free up some homes for sure. It’s a very delicate situation,” she said.
“I don’t have investment properties. I’ve just got one house, which I’m still paying off. But I do understand some people have multiple homes. But, again, some of those homes do become rentals for housing.
“It’s very hard to have a magical mathematical number on the whole thing.”
When approached for his perspectives on the election campaigns so far, a local in his 50s said: “I think Liberals got Buckley’s and none getting in. Absolutely waste of freaking space.”
“They haven’t done anything. They keep selling everything off.
“And then when Labor gets in, it takes more than a couple of years to get everything going back again.”
The local said he had voted for Labor.
Another couple, who are in their 70s, said firmly that they had always voted for Liberals.
“Cannot stand the condition of our country and our State at the moment. Shocking,” they said.
“See how lucky we were. We built the biggest house when we were young. When I was 19, I bought the land, 21, we got married. And we could afford that. You’d name one person who’s 21 years old now who does that.
“When Liberals were in, and everybody could afford a house.
“We have got communists running the country, and the State is in such a shocking state. I don’t even know how else to say it.”
A local said he voted for the Liberals this time. He said he used to be a Labor voter, but not anymore.
“It’s bad government,” he said.
The local rooted for Peter Dutton’s nuclear policy and the approximately $55,000 – over five years – mortgage interest tax deduction for first home buyers of newly built homes.
“I think we should be going to nuclear. I think we should not be going to renewables. Renewables cost a lot of money. And it’s going to take a long time to do that,” he said.
“I’ve got a house already, so it doesn’t really matter to me, but for people who are going in the market today, $50,000 is a lot of money. It takes a long time to save $50,000.”
Another local who lives down the street said he would prefer to vote for an independent, but there was none in Holt. He would vote for the Liberal in the end.
“My views of a parliament are that they won’t work together. You got the ALP on one side, the Liberals on the other. And they will not let one another know whether they’ve got a good idea or not, which is stupid,” he said.
“If one has a good idea, the others should endorse it.”
Policy-wise, he supported Peter Dutton’s nuclear plants.
“Once it’s established, it doesn’t take much to run it. And they keep hyping the big cost. What about the high cost of the solar panels? No one really analyses the cost of making a solar panel,” he said.
“And then, all this new stuff with the copper with electric cars, how much copper is coming out? And they’ve got to keep producing copper, and that takes a lot of energy… And solar is not going to do all that all the time.
“Wind, well, you can laugh at that. It only works half the time when the wind’s blowing.
“And fossil fuels eventually will run out. You’ve gotta find something different.”
Early voting runs until Friday 2 May.
Local early voting centres include:
-1st Cranbourne Scout Hall, 255-257 South Gippsland Highway, Cranbourne.
-Akoonah Park Centre, 2 Cardinia Street, Berwick.
-Clyde Public Hall, 30 Railway Road, Clyde.
On Mondays through to Thursdays, centres will be open from 8.30 am – 5.30 pm.
On Saturday 26 April, centres will be open from 9am – 4pm and from 8.30 am – 6pm on Friday 2 May.
