WHAT SWING VOTERS THINK SHOULD BE IN THE FEDERAL BUDGET
KATHARINE RAFFERTY
Mother of three. Age 41
Occupation: Small business owner from Wodonga.
Seat: Indi (regional Victoria) held by independent MP Cathy McGowan.
* Universities fees: My son will be going to uni in a couple of years in Melbourne to study medicine. He may not able to access Youth Allowance because our family's income will be slightly over the threshold.
* Small business: Money for start-ups, tax relief.
* Health: Want to see hospital waiting lists go down. Shortage of staff at regional hospitals that can compromise quality of care.
* Tax: Concerned about bracket creep. People should be rewarded for working hard.
* Transport: Bullet train or decent reliable transport connecting rural areas to the city.
PAUL COCKRAM
Age 64
Occupation: Desktop publisher from Braidwood.
Seat: Eden-Monaro (regional NSW) held by Liberal Peter Hendy.
* Infrastructure spending: Public transport.
* Renewable energy: Opportunities for farmers to make extra income by hosting solar and wind farms.
* Health.
* Education.
LISA AMERIKANOS
Mother of a toddler. Age 35.
Occupation: Youth development worker from Launceston.
Seat: Bass (regional Tasmania) held by Liberal Andrew Nikolic.
* Education: Equity in funding for all schools based on student need. If not Gonski, is there an alternative model that will demonstrate equitable distribution?
* Health: Concern about emergency services. As a taxpayer and a private health fund member it doesn't seem there is any return on my investment. Either it's a long, protracted wait in one system or an inaccessible gap to pay in the other.
* Jobs: Youth unemployment a particular concern in Northern Tasmania. Looking for stimulus that encourages jobs growth.
* Environment: Looking for investment in renewable energy ventures that will provide jobs growth.
STEFAN BERGER
Lives with partner. Age 27.
Occupation: Environmental engineer from West Perth.
Seat: Perth (Western Australia) being vacated by Labor's Alannah MacTiernan.
* Bracket creep needs to be dealt with.
* Not in favour of lowering company tax rates, probably the opposite if anything.
* Funding education, health and social services.
* Looking for measures to crack down on multinational tax avoidance. Happy for superannuation tax concessions to be scaled back for high-income earners.
TESS LAWLEY
Single. Age 24.
Occupation: Community radio general manager from Kensington.
Seat: Melbourne, held by Adam Bandt for the Greens.
* Youth Allowance and welfare for young people.
* Domestic and family violence funding.
* Funding for medium and small-sized arts organisations engaged in community development.
VERA MAGAZZENI
Living with partner. Age 33.
Occupation: Training officer for water sanitation organisation from Rosalie.
Seat: Brisbane, being vacated by Liberal Teresa Gambaro.
* Spending on measures to protect Great Barrier Reef and solar energy.
* Maternity leave: Would be great if there was a bit more support financially. The minimum time you have to work at an organisation before you're eligible for maternity leave can be a problem especially if you change jobs. It's off-putting because you think, `I'm not going to get pregnant now', but getting pregnant is sometimes not easy.
* Health.
* Education.
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