Its interesting people coming up in the street and saying ‘Hang on, I just voted for you’, and we are getting some traction.
- David Mailler
IN line with a national trend that has seen more than 2.2 million people already cast their vote in tomorrow’s election, Inverell’s voters have turned Flanders House into a busy place since pre-polling opened here on Tuesday, June 28.
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It appears many voters either need, or have decided, to get their vote in early for whatever reason, and reaction among some of the candidates was as varied as their how to vote cards.
CountryMinded candidate David Mailler said he was pleasantly pleased with the reaction he had received.
“Its interesting people coming up in the street and saying ‘Hang on, I just voted for you’, and we are getting some traction,” he said.
Mr Mailler said he spoke about value returns to reward the work of rural communities throughout the campaign and was pleased to see that conversation now being taken up.
“Given that we started here on April 17 as a registered party, it’s heartening that the message is getting out there,” he said.
“We’re in the middle of a storm, but everywhere we go people are responding quite positively to us being there and being in the fight.”
Handing out how to vote cards for Barnaby Joyce, NSW Senate candidate John Williams thought many people had already made up their mind.
“Some are coming through and saying ‘No, don’t want to vote for Tony’, others say ‘No don’t want to vote for Barnaby’, you get a clear indication from some of them,” Mr Williams said.
I’ve got a good feeling about it, and I’ve been handing out in Inverell for a long time.
- John Williams
“But how do you pick people’s brains and guess how they’re going to vote?
“I’ve got a good feeling about it, and I’ve been handing out in Inverell for a long time. Mind you, I’ve been on a losing side for a long time too when Tony Windsor and Richard Torbay were Independent Members. But I’m very confident, this one’s going all right.”
Mr Williams is running at number five on the Coalition Senate ticket.
“I think we’ll get five up out of 12, yes, but I have been wrong a million times before,” he said.
Handing out how to vote cards for Tony Windsor, retired school principal Steve Auld was very confident.
“I think we’ve been polling really well,” he said.
Mr Auld said the feeling in Armidale and Tamworth was incredibly good.
“We see Inverell as a tipping place with probably 50-50 in preferences.
“We’d like to think we will get there with preferences 50.5 to 49.5.”
Mr Auld said he thought it was like picking the winner of State of Origin.
“It’s like Mr Windsor says, ‘Somebody will win’, and he says that with a smile and off he goes,” he said.
