Five of the nine candidates vying for the seat of O'Connor in the upcoming Federal election have met with voters to discuss what they could deliver for their electorate.
More than 30 residents gathered at the forum, hosted by the Esperance Chamber of Commerce, to address candidates before they head to the polls on May 18.
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Among those in attendance were Great Australia Party candidate Nick Robinson, Western Australia Party candidate Peter Swift, United Australia Party candidate Anthony Fels, The Greens candidate Nelson Blake Gilmour and Nationals WA candidate John Hassell.
Liberal candidate Rick Wilson, who currently holds the seat, Australian Labor Party candidate Shelley Payne, Australian Christians Party candidate Ian t'Hart and One Nation candidate Dean Smith were all apologies.
Following a briefing from each of the candidates, attendees took the floor to ask questions on the issues that matter most to them.
How do you plan to support small business, diversify the local economy, attract investment and bring more people to the region?
Great Australia Party's Nick Robinson said he would push to see major roads in the region fixed and personal taxation eliminated but would act based on the advice of his constituents.
For Western Australia Party candidate Peter Swift, taking care of the regions would involve changes to the high fees for regional airfares and red tape for local businesses.
As well as citing high regional airfares as an issue for tourism, United Australia Party candidate Anthony Fels said he was concerned about the number of empty shop fronts and stressed the importance of opportunities to keep young people in small towns.
"A lot of intelligent kids go off to university in Perth and stay there because there is no opportunity for them down here," he said.
"Our policies are designed to encourage people to keep their businesses local, for them to be on a 20 per cent lower tax if they're 200 km or more from Perth.
"We need to give businesses the incentive to stay and train and employ people up down here."
For The Greens, Mr Gilmour said protecting small business would involve a 110 per cent wages tax credit and increasing Newstart to help people contribute to the local economy.
Mr Gilmour also highlighted potential job opportunities in the transition to renewable energy.
"A 110 per cent wages tax credit so that small business can grow and increasing Newstart touches on almost every aspect of the community," he said.
"Economic inequality is an issue and that would immediately help a lot of people and contribute to the local economy."
Nationals WA candidate John Hassell said he believed it was more so about expanding what the region already had to offer than diversification, including better healthcare and education and the necessary infrastructure to increase employment.
"We need to get investment back into the economy so that businesses can flourish through normal business rather than subsidisation," he said.
What does aged care mean for your party? What are your policies in relation to helping people stay in regional communities for as long as they can?
All candidates agreed aged care was a significant issue, particularly for regional communities, and vowed to push for greater investment in the sector.
Great Australia Party's Nick Robinson said he believed better funding and infrastructure was the best way to keep those aging in regional WA.
For The Greens, Mr Gilmour said the party would invest in aged care and saw many job opportunities for young people in the sector.
Nationals WA candidate John Hassell said the party had a policy in place to keep people aging in their communities and that he supported a cooperative model.
According to candidate Anthony Fels, the $4000 per year increase for the pension, proposed by the United Australia Party, would help to address the issue.
What do you think about the inheritance tax and what are you going to do about it?
Nationals WA candidate John Hassell, Great Australia Party candidate Nick Robinson, Western Australia Party candidate Peter Swift and United Australia Party candidate Anthony Fels all completely opposed the tax.
Although not official Greens policy for this election, The Greens candidate Nelson Blake Gilmour said he did believe intergenerational hoarding of wealth contributed to economic inequality and was an issue that needed to be addressed.
Whilst she was not present at the forum to respond, a member of the public said they had attended to question ALP candidate Shelley Payne about whether she was still receiving council wages whilst on a leave of absence for the election campaign and her stance on environmental issues.