Although there is no official date yet for this year's federal election, independent candidate for Monash, Deb Leonard is already on the campaign trail.
In the past fortnight, she has held a climate and energy Q&A in Inverloch (see separate story), and "politics in the pub" sessions at Wonthaggi and Moe.
The Wonthaggi session focused on the National Disability Insurance Scheme (NDIS), to provide a platform for NDIS participants, family members, carers, and service providers to voice their concerns and propose improvements to the current system.
Deb described the NDIS as "a minefield", that was impossible to understand and difficult to navigate.
"There are many problems with the system — there is money being wasted on bureaucracy when it could be going to participants, there is inequity in funding, and there is a lack of common sense in decision making."
The consensus on the night was NDIS needed to involve participants in decision making.
Energy
Over in Moe, the contentious issue of energy was in the spotlight, with Latrobe earmarked as a location for a nuclear reactor under the Coalition's energy scheme.
Deb said while those who attended had different ideas about the future of power generation in the region, everyone one agreed "we need to take the politics out of decision making, and focus on providing reliable, cheap, clean energy".
"We're allowed to have different opinions" she told attendees. "We don't have to all agree, but it's important that we listen to each other, and understand each other's perspectives, because often you'll find that you have common ground."
Concerns around mental health services in the area, and ideas for new tourism ventures were also aired at the get-together.
Deb said she and many others were sick of the "adversarial win/lose style politics we have been seeing in all levels of politics lately, both here and overseas".
She said as an independent she'll work with both sides of politics to get the best outcomes for the region.
"We need to put party politics aside and start focusing on our community."