The only new federal seat at this election, the semi-rural seat of Bullwinkle in Perth, is shaping up as a tight contest. The three-horse race between former Liberal staffer Matt Moran, former WA Nationals Leader Mia Davies and nurse and local Labor councillor Trish Cook is on a knife's edge.
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00:00From skyline views to the heart of the Wheatbelt, the new seat of Bullwinkle has a big boundary.
00:10Like you said, it's a big seat.
00:11With big issues. The seat is roughly split into three parts, the suburban fringe, the Perth Hills and the Wheatbelt.
00:20It's notionally held by Labor on a 3.3% margin, but it's a new seat and has no current sitting member.
00:28In Beverley, 130km from the Perth CBD, it's clear the Nationals have been campaigning hard.
00:35Apart from cost of living pressures and access to healthcare, for locals here in Beverley, there's mostly only one other issue on their minds in the lead up to the poll.
00:46Certainly keep the sheep because we have a farm in the district.
00:51The live export trade is an epic cost to the economy and whatever else.
00:57There's really no future for sheep farming.
01:01In Perth Hills, cost of living is biting in a slightly different way for Bedfordale orchard farmers Kate and Davin Harris.
01:09The pair are in their third season running their orchard, but have been feeling the pinch with business costs recently.
01:16In the last probably 12 to 18 months, maybe 24, instead of actually getting ahead and being able to save, I think we're really, we're pretty much spending everything we earn.
01:25And in the seat's most populous third on the suburban fringe, it's a mix of issues on the minds of voters.
01:32You look at the price of petrol, the bag of groceries. I mean, we shop around a lot more now than we used to to pick up specials.
01:42Before I could do it easily by myself as a single mum, rented by myself, worked full time.
01:47Yeah, now there's no way I could do it by myself.
01:50The question for Bullwinkle's candidates, how do you appeal to voters across such a diverse seat?
01:56I'm having conversations with everyone. I went to the 2J show. We've been door knocking in those areas.
02:03I'm more than happy to talk to every person in Bullwinkle.
02:07A lot of driving, lots of forums, lots of meetings, lots of catch-ups and coffees with people.
02:14You've got to make an effort to go to every part of the electorate.
02:17It's getting in a meeting with the community organisations, knocking on doors, going to the sporting groups,
02:22making sure that you're at community events where people can come and say hello.
02:26The battle for Bullwinkle, far from over.