By Ethan Benedicto
Voters in Berwick told Star News when they attended the polls that Liberal is the way to go, as early voting begins its first day.
Star News attended multiple venues throughout Casey and Dandenong on Tuesday, 22 April, marking the first day of early voting.
In Akoonah Park, the majority of the voters who were willing to share their views were voting for Liberal, all echoing a similar sentiment of theirs and the people’s weariness of Labor’s “inaction and overspending”.
Denise said that she was for the Liberals since she “wants cheap petrol and cheap electricity”.
“I believe that Albanese’s campaign has been based on lies.”
On the other hand, one voter said he was going for Labor, and since there was no standing MP to critique for Bruce, he criticised LaTrobe instead.
He added that besides Labor’s policies, there were some unkept promises from Jason Wood, the current Liberal LaTrobe MP, as well as the fact that “he lives in Mount Dandenong”.
“That’s number one, the other thing is he promised to build a 500-space car park in Officer Station, and it’s never happened.
“He just blamed the Labor party and that’s it, but that’s his problem,” he said.
Wood has previously promised $15 million for car parks in the same Officer Station, as part of the broader 2019 Morrison government’s $300 million commitment for enhancing station parking areas.
Other voters weren’t as convinced with the current Labor party, with elderly couple Carol and Phil saying that they’re both “sick of Labor”.
“Look, at this stage of our lives, many of our friends don’t want to be here anymore, and we live in a retirement community,” Carol said.
“The world’s changed so badly, and I’m sick of Labor in the state too, just all of that money going to waste, and then there’s the mental health challenges that we’re – and our kids – are facing.”
The public’s voice for the Liberals didn’t falter, with another couple saying that they were “sick and tired” of Labor’s “broken promises and overspending”.
“There are no consequences for their actions, and everyone (in Bruce) would think this, because everything’s going backwards right now.”
Another couple, Bailey and Millie, have opted to cast their vote to the Libertarians, highlighting their appreciation of the party’s push for “less government intervention in everyday life”.
“I’m kind of sick of both the major parties, to be fair, and we don’t like any of the independents, so we think the Libertarians are a good in-between,” they said.
Jacob believed that the Liberals were the right choice, and that their policies were going to “do a better job for the economy”.
“They’re spending, but they’re better at saving, so housing will increase, and you’ll probably end up with $500,000 a house, or even $200,000 in the long run after 10 years,” he said.
Current Labor and Bruce MP, Julian Hill, has been at the Akoonah Park voting centre since 8am in the morning, handing out flyers and speaking to residents about the upcoming election.
From his point of view, things have been good and smooth, with ample engagement from the people.
The line for the centre also stretched as far out as the parking lot, with wait times as long as 45 minutes.
“There’s a clear choice, Dutton’s American-style cuts and chaos, with $600 billion of risky nuclear reactors, a promise to raise your income tax, and policies that would push up the cost of housing,” Hill started.
“Or, Labor’s plan to tackle the cost of living, to cut income taxes, to invest in Medicare and build Australia’s future – don’t risk Dutton.”
Hill has been a staunch supporter of the Future Made in Australia Bill, previously telling Star News, in response to the City of Casey’s 2025-26 commonwealth pre-budget submission of its importance in bolstering a net zero transformation, economic resilience, all the while making things at home.
He also previously touched on housing, mental health and infrastructure for Casey, considering that the entirety of Berwick, Harkaway and half of Cranbourne North had only recently been added to his current electorate.
The official Liberal voice in Berwick was silent, with the party’s volunteers telling Star that Zahid Safi was making his rounds in Dandenong for the first day.
This story is developing, and more will be added once information becomes available.
