THE PUB TEST | Gail Copping, Matt Bayada and Pete Manwaring talk about the election

The Western Advocate recently introduced The Pub Test, a panel of everyday people from the electorate who'll be sharing their diverse views with readers as the election rolls on.

We've profiled the four Bathurst members of the panel - Stuart and Ingrid Pearson, Brayden Jurd and Mackenzie Hastie - and now it's time to find out what Gail Copping and Matt Bayada from Orange and Molong's Pete Manwaring are thinking as the election gets close.

CALL centre consultant Gail Copping, 64, has lived in Orange for 50 years and has worked full time for the past 14 years.

She's also previously worked part-time in retail and hospitality while raising four children as a single mother.

Her three daughters and son are now all adults and she has six grandchildren.

"I vote with a conscience, not for a party. I vote for who makes the promises to do better and as I've gotten older I've sort of changed a lot," Ms Copping said.

"I'm getting into that demographic of Baby Boomer retirees soon, so you now make a more conscious effort who you vote for. I don't vote for any particular parties but what they can give that suits me, what I want."

IN NEWS AROUND BATHURST:

The main issue that concerns her is affordable housing for single male and female Baby Boomers who are still working.

She questioned where people go for affordable housing when there's a long waiting list, and although that's provided by the state, she wants the federal government to get involved, too.

"There will be a lot of Baby Boomer homeless people. Not all of us were able to afford to [buy a house]; a lot of people who were married got divorced, lost the house and now they're in affordable housing," she said.

"I want them to start building more, but not density; two and one bedroom places; you don't need a ghetto again. They need to build small units for the aging working population."

Ms Copping said she has to wait until she's 67 to retire, if she can afford to.

"It's getting that way that people are working but they can't afford to live in their home town because their wages don't cover their rent and electricity," she said.

"I pay $800 a fortnight out of my wage in rent; it went up by $60 a week in January. Single income.

"I'm looking at what they can do for affordable housing for families, aging workers; we're living longer, we're working longer due to them."

She said workers of her generation also didn't get the full benefit of superannuation, especially if they worked as a casual.

Ms Copping said the CPI hasn't caught up with the cost of living, citing the cost of bread and milk. She was also concerned about the cost of childcare.

"I've heard a lot of parents say it's not worth going back to work until they're at school because of the cost of childcare," she said.

BASED in the village of Molong, small business owner Pete Manwaring is originally from Sydney and, as the pre-election days unfold, he wants to see more life being breathed into the creative arts sector and the global warming crisis addressed.

"Actual election policies and budget cash splashes don't drive me too much, unless they're blatantly unfair," Mr Manwaring said.

"Having said that, solving our most important issue of climate change is critical, so I want a hard 2030 emissions reduction target for a start."

IN NEWS AROUND BATHURST:

Mr Manwaring, 55, says he's worn several hats in his life.

He's been an electronics engineer, a centre half-back in Aussie footy league around Cronulla, a sole contractor for the police department, a former-husband for a decade, a rally car driver, an events promoter, gallery philanthropist of Medium, Rare, a performer and co-owner of The Bearded Tit - a bar nestled in Sydney's inner-city suburbs.

"I had this big warehouse space in Redfern, which was the art space and where I lived, and we held events and parties which funded the gallery - so, that model then led into what was really a natural progression to owning a bar which was art-focused," Mr Manwaring said.

"The bar celebrated diversity and people, a place where anybody and everybody was able to go there - old, young, skinny, fat, queer, straight, you name it - and I think the west needs more of this kind of stuff."

Hosting a showcase of live musicians performing on the tray of an old '46 DeSoto, Mr Manwaring launched the semi-official 'Pre-Reno Double Dipper' party for new creative hub to come, LongMo's - a recording studio for independent recording artists.

LongMo's is also the home of premium retail space, The Molong Stores, which is run by his close mate, Robbie Carroll.

"People get to see a gay guy run a cool shop and they'll see musicians here with original live music instead of just a covers band, so I think it's critical for people, young and old," Mr Manwaring said.

"And there's so many people out here who are quirky and bent and talented, but they're not exposed to [the creative and diverse] world, so they don't do anything with it and it's such a waste.

"We're a part of this world of gentrification, you know. I did it there [in Redfern] and I'm probably doing it here, too. I'm actually socially against gentrification, but I also understand that there's no way around it."

He would like to see more action from the country's two most prominent political figures.

"I'd like to see a journalist call ScoMo out on his childish smirk as he avoids their questions and therefore accountability," Mr Manwaring said.

"[And] I want see Albo stand up and talk about integrity and ideas to reduce the demise of democracy."

MATT Bayada is a 40-year-old web designer and father who has lived in Orange for most of his life.

Although initially a Labor voter, his politics have changed and he's more recently voted for the UAP, Citizens Electoral Party, formerly known as the Citizens Electoral Council, and the Liberal Democrats.

"I studied some modern history in high school and have been reading and researching about geopolitics and economics ever since," he said.

"I remember seeing Labor Prime Minister Bob Hawke on the TV when I was kid; he seemed pretty popular in our circles and Dad even had the same haircut for a while - a coincidence I'm sure.

"When it came time for me to vote, my folks seemed to be Labor leaning and with a name like Labor, I assumed they cared about hard working Australians, so I voted for Labor."

Mr Bayada said he voted for Kevin Rudd in 2007 and still has the shirt to prove it.

However, his politics started to change in 2008 after he bought his first home, which he described as "a little fibro three-bedder with smoke-stained walls and cat-stained carpets for $155,000".

"Even at that steal of a price, we had a heck of a time getting finance, so of course I started to research into money creation, commercial and central banking, the money supply," Mr Bayada said.

"Along the way, I read some books, The Creature From Jekyll Island and Web Of Debt, learning how central banks, except China's, are privately owned."

Mr Bayada said his attention turned to the Citizens Electoral Party through whom he learnt about people such as politician King O'Malley, who advocated for the creation of a national bank in Australia.

He also took an interest in the American system of economy used by Abraham Lincoln and Franklin D Roosevelt and he was reminded of the Commonwealth Bank, before it was sold and privatised under a Labor government in the 1990s.

"Where the left once had great direction and statesmen like Franklin D Roosevelt, John F Kennedy, King O'Malley and Ben Chifley, we now have the left wing focused on identity politics," Mr Bayada said.

He also dislikes many of their policies and views on climate change, social credit systems and small business.

"I believe the left has not just abandoned its base of working-class people, but humanity as a whole," he said.

"Whether by international pressure or fear of the media, the Libs are following, lurching to the left while the voters are running to candidates who listen to their constituents and are unencumbered by nameless, faceless corporate and NGO (see Climate 200) interests."

Mr Bayada said he feels the major parties have become out of touch with voters and reality.

"I believe we will see, as we have seen across the globe, a surge in populism," he said.

"In countries with fair and honest elections, populist candidates are reigniting interest in politics by doing something shocking - having policies and objectives that are helpful to humanity."