By MATT NICHOLLS
THERE’S just nine days to go until Australia decides its next government, so there was plenty of interest in Monday night’s Port Macquarie Chamber of Commerce candidates forum.
All nine candidates appeared at the event and spoke in front of about 80 people.
Stuart Goodfellow, who acted as the moderator on Monday night, said some candidates were guilty of failing to stay on topic.
“All of them were given a strong brief to speak a little bit about themselves and then on their policies around small business,” he said.
“Some of those candidates met that brief, but others didn’t and spoke about national policy and their party’s views.
“It was really interesting, because just about all of the people at the forum were small business owners.”
While David Gillespie is deemed to be the hot favourite to replace Rob Oakeshott on September 7, many said they believed it was far from a done deal.
“I think all of the candidates still have work to do to reach the heights of Rob Oakeshott,” one small business owner said.
“None of the candidates really stood out, but some were stronger than others.
“David Gillespie wasn’t the strongest speaker on the night, but he’s certainly the best known and that’s going to help.”
Make sure you get a copy of next week’s Port Macquarie Independent for comment from each nine candidates before the election.
