Oliver Laughland in Rooty Hill
theguardian.com, Wednesday 28 August 2013
'The Labor heartland I grew up with is still with me, but neither of these politicians has a heart,' says one audience member
Nada Makdessi, a member of the public, poses for a selfie with Kevin Rudd and Tony Abbott after the forum at Rooty Hill RSL. Photograph: Lukas Coch/AAP
At the start of Wednesday's debate both leaders played up their connection to western Sydney. Kevin Rudd paid homage to the fact that 10% of Australia's population lives in the area, while Tony Abbott reminded voters of his year living in Emu Plains.
But most of those in the audience who Guardian Australia spoke to after the debate didn't buy it.
"It was the standard 'we love you all' line," said John from Croydon. "Tony Abbott opened strongly but then was unable to answer questions properly, that's when Rudd started carrying the debate – Rudd pipped it at the end."
But despite what he saw, John said he remained undecided.
Kath Morris, who lives in the inner west and grew up a devoted Labor follower, was also finding it difficult to vote for either party after the night's performance.
"The Labor heartland I grew up with is still with me, but neither of these politicians has a heart," she said.
Brian Ford, from the Sutherland shire in Sydney's south, said: "The leaders were a bit disconnected as to where the people had actually come from. They were a bit misinformed, many people here were not from western Sydney."
Brian had been expecting at least one question on asylum policy – given that it's supposed to be a hot topic in western Sydney – but none came. So he approached Abbott after the debate to ask how he planned to turn asylum seeker boats back to Indonesia. He wasn't convinced by the response.
"I'd hate people to vote for a party because they had a good one line, 'Stop the boats.' " he said.
Shelly Toll is from Penrith and describes herself as a "local girl". She asked the question during the debate that got the most laughs: "What would the leaders like to ask each other?"
She said their responses had been a "bit comical" and resorted to "mudslinging".
So who won, in Shelly's mind? For her it was all about Abbott's closing remarks, which she said were compelling.
"He directed it more towards us. It was less about the mudslinging and that's been a huge issue with campaigns previously; it's been a little much too much pointing the finger at each other, and less about saying what they'll do differently."
