ACM Pub Test: Meet the voters on our 2022 federal election panel

But ultimately the people who's opinions matter most during this period are the voters - and national security, education, politicians' personalities and liveability are just some of the topics on voters' minds.

That's why five Canberrans will discuss these policy areas, along with other topics, once a week for Australian Community Media's "Pub Test" series.

Brianna Williams, Jeffrey Bollard, Ashley Laing, Raelene Dunstall and Jim Macdougall live throughout the territory's three federal electorates: Bean, Fenner and Canberra.

Ranging from first-time voters to retirees - and from engineers to content creators - this group will be speaking with The Canberra Times throughout the campaign to reflect how Albo and ScoMo's baby kissing and hard-hat campaigning influence their thoughts over the coming weeks until polling day.

When three of the five Pub Test participants meet to discuss the election at Parliament's House's café, they seem largely undecided on a range of issues - including who to vote for, who they would prefer as prime minister, and which party would be better for them in government.

Jeff Bollard works in aircraft navigation systems, but also volunteers as president of Tuggeranong Community Council. Of those present, he's seen the most elections. He spends some time reflecting on the period before Gough Whitlam's 1975 dismissal, when he felt ready to vote against the government, but wasn't yet old enough to participate.

"I was 18 by the polling day, but I wasn't 18 by the time we had to register," he says.

Content creator and real estate agent Bri Williams says in her time of observing politics "it's never been steady", due to all the leadership changes and spills in the major parties.

"I think the last time it was steady for me, and I was very young, was just 'Kevin 07' - and even then, that ended in a shambles," she says.

The youngest of the group, Ash Laing, is a first-time federal voter, and is feeling very "removed from the whole discussion".

Only 10 minutes into their chat, differences are already being set aside so the participants can discuss the nature of politics, the history of Australian elections and why some issues matter more than others to certain voters, depending on their background.

There is always a significant focus placed on the prime ministerial candidates in federal elections, but Bri, Ash and Jeff seem to be more interested in discussing local representatives in Canberra and what could be done for the community.

"I'm not voting for president, I'm voting for a local member - [and] in our case one of the two local senators. So I'll have to see who's been out there, who's been doing a good job," Jeff says.

Independent ACT Senate candidate David Pocock is a big point of interest for all three participants, as the former Wallabies star has been shaking up the race. Mr Pocock is viewed as a particular threat to sitting Liberal senator Zed Seselja.

Ash expresses some excitement at Pocock's candidacy, saying he trained with him, while Bri says she's interested to see what would happen if he were elected, describing him as "very passionate" with his environmental work.

"I'm interested to see what his policies are that he wants to take forward into the Senate," she says.

Based on the elections he's watched play out in the past, Jeff says he's sure the ACT will end up re-electing the same set of people - meaning three Labor members in the House of Representatives, and one Labor and one Liberal senator for the ACT.

And while he recognises Mr Pocock has been campaigning around Canberra - in particular when he helped the council pick up rubbish at Lake Tuggeranong - he's sceptical there would be a shake-up if he were elected.

"I think we'll end up back with the status quo. I don't know how much Zed is working local issues - every time I see him on TV he's out doing his national, international Pacific Island-type stuff," he says.

"I think that [Senator Seselja] is well connected within the internal party politics of the Liberal Party, rather than being well connected with the electorate."

While an election is yet to be called, all five Pub Test participants note how both Prime Minister Scott Morrison and Opposition Leader Anthony Albanese are trying to grab their attention as voters.

Raelene Dunstall is a retiree who has previously worked in a number of secretary, teaching and community volunteer roles. She says her opinion of the Prime Minister and how he has performed is extremely sour.

"I just don't trust him - there's too many things they've done really wrong," she says.

"The gap between rich and poor is getting greater and greater, and this current government doesn't seem to have a clue with how people are struggling."

Voter discontent when it comes to this Prime Minister is not a new phenomenon - the latest example being a confrontation between Mr Morrison and an angry punter at Newcastle's Edgeworth Tavern, which went viral this week on social media.

"Scott Morrison needs to give up walking into pubs," Jeff says.

Both Bri and Jeff feel Anthony Albanese has not made himself widely known as a prime ministerial candidate, and hope to find out more going into the election.

"I don't think Albo's really had a chance to show us who he is, so I'm actually excited to sort of see. He's got new glasses, he's got a nice linen shirt," Bri says.

"I just haven't seen him ... [or seen] him come up with an idea," Jeff says.

Renewables engineer Jim Macdougall is pessimistic about the choice between the two candidates.

READ MORE

"At the end of the day, I know every single person in Parliament is just as trustworthy as the next person, and that's almost zero," he says.

At the other end of the spectrum, Ash feels some sympathy for the Prime Minister due to the string of extreme crises Australia has faced over the past few years.

"If I was to vote for a person, I think I would probably vote for Scott Morrison, because I think he has probably gotten a pretty hard rap, having gone through one of the toughest terms to be prime minister. I don't really know much about Anthony Albanese," he says.

All five participants have different opinions as to what matters most this election - and how it will play out.

On top of being a real estate agent, Bri is a content creator on platforms such as TikTok. She believes humour is an important way to keep people informed.

"I try to create humour out of it, and I think everyone's been doing that for hundreds of years in politics," she said.

"Social media is going to be, in my opinion, one of the biggest players in this election."

Raelene points to aged care as something that will need to keep being addressed after the election. She points to Albanese's budget reply speech, in which he announced a $2.5 billion plan to fix the crisis.

"I think [aged care is] very, very important, because, I mean, most people in our age group, people that we talk to, want to stay out of aged care," she says.

All five participants also cite the cost of living and housing prices as other policy areas they'll be taking note of throughout the campaign.

The prospect of owning a house seems inconceivable at this point in time for Jim, he says. Being in the early stages of his career, he sees it as something that won't be possible for a long time yet.

"It's not something that I've explored extensively because I know it's not realistically possible within the next five years," he says.

Jeff cites national security funding as an issue that is set to feature prominently this campaign, pointing to the government's $9.9 billion investment over 10 years in new cyber capabilities as a positive step.

"That probably means more jobs to people in Canberra, because [the] Australian Signals Directorate is located across the lake," he says.

And finally, climate change is a pressing topic for the group. Jim in particular has a strong interest in the direction Australia chooses to go in when it comes to new technologies.

"I think the best thing that we can do in Australia is aim for development of new technologies. Enhancing solar technology is something we've been really good at recently," he says.

He says it's important that people understand the nuanced issue, saying if Australia is able to improve the efficiency of solar panels by just 10 to 15 per cent, things will be better worldwide for the climate crisis.

Our journalists work hard to provide local, up-to-date news to the community. This is how you can continue to access our trusted content: