We went out to Doncaster shopping centre and talked to the residents of the Menzies electorate. They weren’t reticent in giving their opinions on federal politics.. and told us what they think will guide the voters in May.

Joy & Mona, neighbours and  friends since 1969

Joy and Mona believe Kevin Andrews has held the seat for “too long” and believe the area has been “too liberal” and “too conservative”.

Both Joy and Mona stressed they feel Andrews has become complacent and he does nothing to make an impression.

They are both acutely aware of the cost of aged care in the area and Mona recently paid $500,000 for her husband to be in an aged care residence for 3 years prior to his passing.

Neither are looking forward to the retirement tax but won’t be affected by it.

They both believe Andrews needs to adapt to the changing demographic of the area and swelling Asian community.

They probably will not be voting for Andrews in 2019.

Leah, 24 year-old female student

Leah leans towards Labor at election time but struggles to justify her choice as she finds politics to be “embarrassing” and describes the antics of politicians in Australia as “schoolyard bullying”.

She said, “politicians don’t grab my interest”.

When asked how she will approach voting at the upcoming election she confessed she would need to educate herself on policy areas and vote in a way that would see her “be a part of the change”.

She found traffic congestion in the area to be one of her primary causes for concern.

It will be interesting to see how disengaged voters approach the polls.

Yohan, 36 year-old Chef

Yohan was born in Korea and has lived in Australia for 11 years, calling Doncaster home for the last three.

He sees the Liberal and Labour Parties as “not much different” but leans towards the Liberals because of their policies around migrant workers.

He says, “Labor is not friendly for migrant workers” and believes they favour local workers instead.

He was left extremely disappointed when Julia Gillard changed immigration rules without consulting the immigrant community.

He is also discouraged by the “fighting in Canberra”.

He does not find transport to be a problem in the area as he catches buses and doesn’t drive during peak times.

He likes living in Doncaster because of its large Chinese and Malaysian population.

He believes someone who can support migrants communities will win the election and says his “community needs to be represented”.

Will the Liberal party again be the ones who gain the migrant workers’ vote?

Written by Brin Duggan and Freia Lily, photographs by Freia Lily.