Emma Pritchard

With only a couple of days to go until the 2023 State Election, the Clarence Valley Independent decided to conduct a street talk in Grafton.

We asked people which parties or candidates have stood out to them during their recent campaigns, and what they think the outcome will be when the polls close on March 25.

Shayla Reibelt: I’m not old enough to vote yet, but I’d really like to see the Greens win the seat of Clarence. I’m a big advocate of the work the party is doing to prevent mining in the Clarence Valley, and I fully support their lobbying to phase out logging in natural, undisturbed forests, to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, and take much-needed action on the devastating impacts being caused in our region by climate change.

Kayleen Kermann: Not being a Clarence Valley resident, I haven’t been following the local candidates, but I do believe the Nationals will retain the seat. Clarence is predominately a safely held seat by the party, and it has been since 2011, so the community obviously feels well represented by them, and that should be reflected when the votes are counted.

Ada Quan Hsu: I am planning to move to the Clarence Valley next year, and I would be very happy if it was to become a Labor electorate. I believe Labor represent everyone fairly, and I also believe their candidate will be successful at this election.

Jess Franklin: I suspect there will be a definite swing against the Nationals, but I think they will retain the seat. They still have a lot of support in the Clarence Valley, and even though there have been a lot of calls for change, I think they’re doing a good job representing us on the main stage in Canberra.

Chelle Ambrose: I still haven’t decided which candidate I’m giving my preferences to, but I’ve been quite impressed with a couple of them, especially given their united stance on protecting the Clarence Valley against mineral and gas mining at the Meet the Candidates evening which was held earlier this month. There are a lot of first-time voters in this election too, and I think a lot of them will vote for the Greens because the younger generations seem more concerned about taking action against climate change.