Werriwa and Hughes voters say jobs, health and helping the disadvantaged are top issues

Jobs, the economy and helping the young and disadvantaged are top of mind for voters in Werriwa and Hughes, with many casting their vote early for the federal election before polling opens on Saturday.

Liverpool resident Jordan Nguyen spoke to the Leader at The Spot Bar and Grill about the issues deciding his vote ahead of the election. Picture: Jordan Shields

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Jobs, the economy and helping the young and disadvantaged are top of mind for voters in Werriwa and Hughes, with many casting their vote early for the federal election before polling opens on Saturday.

The Leader spoke to voters about the issues deciding their vote. Here’s what they had to say:

Mr Nguyen said helping the disadvantaged was a priority. Picture: Jordan Shields

Jordan Nguyen, of Liverpool — Werriwa: “My major (issue) is mainly looking into helping the poor, so raising Newstart wages that Labor’s promised is a really big one for me … helping those that don’t have that equitable start to life that we’ve mostly had. I come from a criminology background … so having that good family environment, that good economic environment, they’re very important to me because that’s how crime happens — because people are disenfranchised from mainstream society.”

Wattle Grove resident Kirsty Toms speaks to the Liverpool Leader about election issues.

Kirsty Toms, Wattle Grove — Hughes: “I’m a vet nurse, so definitely animal care. Probably aged care, so thinking about the elderly, all the healthcare professionals. The nurse ratio is down. Definitely traffic’s an issue. More jobs for the unemployed, a little bit more of a better system for unemployment would be another one, like trying to encourage more people to get off the Centrelink, so off the Newstart allowance, help them in education.”

Paul Murphy, Wattle Grove — Hughes: “I think employment training, that’s a big issue. I think (young people) feel lost. I think the government needs to invest more in government-run projects, like the old days. They used to have it all in-house. I think privatising every service in Australia is the wrong way to go. We need to keep the money in Australia instead of sending it overseas, and tolls and all those sorts of things like that, just put it all back and keep the toll at a minimum — $2 for the whole length of the expressway, for example.”

Jobs were a concern for Wattle Grove residents Paul and Katrina Murphy.

Katrina Murphy, Wattle Grove — Hughes: “Hurry up and widen Heathcote Rd. Fix that up, it’s ridiculous. We’ve been here for over 13 years and it’s still always going to happen — it still hasn’t happened. We’re happy with the schools around here. Wish the Intermodal didn’t go in because traffic’s going to be insane.”