INDEPENDENT candidate for New England, Adam Blakester, has spoken with more than 1000 people face-to-face since announcing he was running two weeks ago, as he tries to develop a policy platform that reflects the priorities of the electorate.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
Mr Blakester said so far, the reaction had been "overwhelming positive".
"It's early days but it's very encouraging," Mr Blakester said.
"So far, we've had one-on-one discussions with more than 1000 people.
"There are 110,000 in the electorate, so there is a long way to go, but we've hit one per cent and we hope to expand on that."
READ MORE
Mr Blakester said he was "keeping a low profile" while the state election played out, and was using the time to travel around and meet with voters.
"It's an opportunity for them to discuss their views of what the electorate's priorities are," Mr Blakester said.
"And it's an opportunity for us to start explaining who we are, and earn the trust and confidence of people."
"People like the idea of an independent committed to a policy built by the electorate, rather than an independent that's like a free-range chicken, doing whatever they want."
While it's "still early days", Mr Blakester said there were a number of common themes that continued to come up.
"Drought, water policy and the future of agriculture are coming through so loud and clear, that blind Freddy knows it's a real concern," he said.
"People are hurting and to my knowledge, there are no strong solutions coming from the government."