By Corey Everitt & Afraa Kori
Early voting has begun, and Pakenham locals are feeling frustrated while others are feeling hopeful for an election that still has no clear favourite.
Beginning on Tuesday 22 April, Pakenham Uniting Church opened once again as the local early voting centre for this federal election scheduled for 3 May.
Prime Minister Albanese and Opposition Leader Peter Dutton held their third debate last night, hosted by Channel Nine.
Though Albanese has increased in the polls during the campaign to a two-party-preferred vote predicted as high as 55.5 percent, many still believe there is no clear favourite with a large number of swing voters up for grabs this election.
The vote of minor parties and independents is expected to increase due to continued disillusionment with Labor and Liberal.
Voters’ share thoughts
Pakenham resident Joan voted for the Greens for the first time after a long period of voting Labor.
Her central concern was housing and she believed the Greens’ influence could push Labor to take more dramatic action on the question.
She is inspired by housing programs in Europe, such as tiny homes initiatives or the construction of rapid, mobile facilities to house the homeless and marginalised.
Supply needs to go up dramatically, Joan believes, not just for young people but also for her own generation.
“I live in a retirement village here, it’s not up to scratch and I would like to get out,” Joan said.
“If the Government gave land and they built things like tiny homes for people like me, I would be able to get out, but I can’t get out now and you can’t get out to pay rents of $500-600 a week.”
Ennal, also from Pakenham, went the other way from Labor by switching to the Liberal Party.
His switch of vote was due to the changing geopolitical landscape with US President Donald Trump, a landscape that he didn’t believe Albanese could guide Australia through.
“The Liberal Party, I think, is the one who will work best with him,” Ennal said.
Another local, Liz came out of the voting booth feeling “frustrated.”
She voted for a minor party this time as she is fed up with “going around in circles”.
“I’m sick of listening to them bag each other, don’t bag somebody, instead, tell me what you are going to do,” she said.
Pakenham local, Jenny voted Labor but said the political situation was a “mess.”
“Either of them, they just make promises and they break them,” she said.
She ultimately stuck with Labor “for the working class.”
Jessica Watson, a Gen Z voter who has called Pakenham home for the past 16 years, believes many young Australians feel left behind in a system that wasn’t built with them in mind.
“In some cases, possibly, but not exactly. It’s more for the adults,” she said.
“Some people who might be single or have a hard time supporting themselves are struggling more now, especially with prices definitely going up and not having fair choices in what they want to do. That’s been a problem for a while.”
Still, Jessica remains hopeful that the next government could bring meaningful change.
“I hope so. I think they both have a good impact or they might have bad, but they also have good,” she said.
What young voters like Jessica are looking for goes beyond policies and promises—they want a fairer, more inclusive Australia.
“For people to all have free rights and have a say in what they do. And not being discriminated against just because of your culture, your face , your colour or your gender,” she said.
“More easy access to going into a career you want to do and not having all this struggle trying to get through and all that.
“Because you’ve got all these different courses you have to choose. Some people are unsure what they want to do in their life.”
Andy Linaker, a loyal Liberal voter from Pakenham, feels the Liberals are better equipped to “get things on track,” especially in managing key issues like the cost of living.
“I just don’t like how Albanese has handled things; everything has gone up since he’s been in. Well, the key thing is on V8 cars, so petrol. Everything else, it is what it is,” Andy said.
“Coming from England, it’s pretty much the same—Labor or Conservative, Liberals. I trust the Liberals to do a better job here. Also, nuclear power should have been done years ago.”
Mary, a retiree who has lived in Pakenham for six years, stands out from other voters by focusing not on the usual election issues, but on the growing restrictions around animal ownership and the right to a pension.
As someone who used to breed dogs and remains deeply involved in dog shows, she has witnessed firsthand how new regulations are affecting responsible breeders.
“It’s just getting harder and harder,” she said.
“Different shires have different regulations. Shires like Gisborne are now telling them they can’t keep their old dogs. If they want to keep a couple of girls to breed on with, they’ve got to put their old dogs down. It’s really bad!”
When it comes to the broader political landscape, Mary is blunt in her assessment.
“Maybe Liberals would be (better for animal rights), because the Animal Justice Party, they’re so anti-animals,” she said.
“We have never had a government that’s brought a meaningful change, so I’m a bit of a cynic.”
Kylie, a resident of Pakenham, supports Labor because she believes it is the only major party prioritizing inclusion, fairness, and tangible outcomes for disadvantaged communities.
“If you’re going to run a country, you’ve got to bring everyone with you,” she said.
“That means making sure homeless people, those with disabilities, Indigenous communities, LGBTQ+ individuals—everyone is included. You can’t leave them behind, and that’s what other parties are doing right now.”
Kylie is an ongoing advocate for better support services for families, particularly those dealing with autism and the aging process.
“I’ve got a child who’s autistic, and the services that are available are just not good enough. You get scammed left, right, and center. People take your money but don’t give you anything for it,” she said.
“My grandmother’s 90 now and there’s nothing they can medically do for her. The last thing I want to do is keep watching her suffer when I know that she would probably turn around and say, ‘I want to just finish’.”
Despite her loyalty to Labour, Kylie believes they won’t be able to fix everything right away if they get elected because the previous parties in charge caused significant damage.
“It doesn’t matter who gets in this time. No one’s going to be able to fix it because they’ve already trashed it. Unless they completely rip it out and start again,” she said.
“The damage isn’t something one election can undo. Whoever sits in the seat now has to face the aftermath of decisions made long before.“
