The public's opinion: Canning voters talk priorities and predictions

As the country gears up to head to the polls this Saturday, people in Mandurah are weighing up who to give their votes to.

This week the Mandurah Mail asked local people what their main priorities were and what candidate would get their vote on May 18.

Local financial professional Brendon Falzon told the Mail increased costs of living and climate change were two main points that sparked his interest.

Mr Falzon has been living with his family in Greenfields since he moved to Western Australia from Melbourne in August 2017.

At 49 years old the father of two, who labeled himself as a "numbers man", said he also looked after the budget for his family.

"I am a person wired to look at high costs. I'm looking at my living costs that are increasing at a faster rate than my wages," he said.

"I'm concerned about what it's going to cost me to support my family. What future are they going to have?"

Mr Falzon said he was apprehensive of extreme views on climate change and the costs each taxpayer would have to incur.

"I'm concerned about the cost of the climate change extremists. I'm concerned about those pass-on costs. I'm going to have to pay for that, which I can't afford," he said.

He said he dreaded potential cost increases to his electric car and its substation, weekly groceries and housing costs.

Also labelling himself as a savvy investor, Mr Falzon said the future of franking credits and changes to negative gearing had helped him decide who he would like to vote for on polling day.

"I've got an investment property and I've got a self-managed superfund," he said.

"I took out a superfund for long-term strategic allocation. I want the franking credits on that superfund because it actually boosts my return. I'm trying to be savvy. That was planning for my children."

Mr Falzon said he was concerned a federal Labor government would evaporate that plan.

"[If] so, there's a disincentive to save," he said.

"We are in the financial planning business. Retirees are fuming mad.

"They've saved, they're being frugal, they have put aside money. They're not wanting to be a burden on the government. Now they're going to get less money, which means they're going to put their hands up for an aged pension."

Admitting he has voted for both sides of politics in the past, Mr Falzon said would be putting Liberal MP Andrew Hastie in top spot on his ballot this election.

Mr Falzon said had been a big supporter of Paul Keating and Bob Hawke.

"I've changed. In my 20s, I was more Labor," he said.

"I was a staunch Labor man for nearly two decades.I think my priorities changed."

In Canning, Mr Falzon said he knew both Mr Hastie and Australian Christians candidate Jamie van Burgel, had only met Ms Teede briefly but did not know any other candidate for Canning.

The Mail also sat down with Lakelands resident Sasha Todhunter.

Another father of two, Mr Todhunter works as a self-employed consultant and moved to the area at the beginning of 2009 from near Padbury in Perth's north.

Mr Todhunter said he had always considered himself to be left to centre left.

"I tend to support Labor," he said.

Mr Todhunter also listed cost of living as a concern.

"I would say the number one thing for me and my family would be cost of living," he said.

"We keep hearing messages from the government and from the news that our economy is doing so well and there is record company profits.

"I don't really feel that. I just talk to a lot of people and it's not really benefiting them.

"I'm seeing more and more homeless people, I'm seeing elderly people that are struggling just to meet the cost of living.

"I just feel that while our economy may be growing and unemployment may be low, people on the ground are actually doing it really tough.

"People just don't really have a lot of time to enjoy the fruits of their work."

Mr Todhunter said Labor's Canning candidate Mellisa Teede would get his vote on election day.

"I want to see someone elected who is actually in touch with the voters," he said.

"I must say I don't know a lot of the other candidates but from what I do know of Mellisa is that she comes across as being someone who has empathy and someone who really knows what the issues are.

"I think about Andrew Hastie the biggest thing that comes to my mind was the mandatory drug testing of welfare recipients.

"I think to myself 'I wonder why he is singling out that one issue'. I know there are drug problems in Mandurah but I think it would better for us to have a representative that sees the causes and the social issues that lead to that sort of thing in the area."

He said he was "sick" of the current federal government's beat-up of the city and their "negative stance".

"A lot of their ads, a lot of their slogans are just negative. People don't want that. People want to feel good about being in Mandurah and people want to feel that our country is going somewhere," he said.

"I've talked to some people and they just don't care, which is a real shame. It would be a mistake for someone to just cast a donkey vote and not be involved in that democracy process. To the people in Mandurah, if we're not happy about the way things are then this is the way that we as individuals can make a difference."

Mr Todhunter said he knew Mellisa Teede but did not know Andrew Hastie personally, but had been at events he had spoken at. He said he had not met any other candidate vying for Canning.