Anywhere but Canberra: meet some of the voters who will decide Australia’s 2025 federal election

Across the country, cost-of-living pressures were mentioned by every voter Guardian Australia spoke to. Top row (left to right): Amelia Makin, Ann-Marie Thomas, Chantelle Campbell and Federico Canas Velasco. Middle row (left to right): Holli Brunckhorst, John Sparrow, Ed Bryant and Todd Boorer. Bottom row (left to right): Brent Daylight, Lilly Wright, Ali El Kheir and Irfan Syed. Composite: Guardian design

Over the past three months, Guardian Australia has been speaking to ordinary people about their everyday lives – their families, work, hobbies, stressors and hopes.

These interviews have formed our Anywhere But Canberra series – a portrait of what different people across the country are dealing with in the lead up to the federal election. We wanted to see how people’s lives and perspectives shaped their votes.

And while we spoke to a range of Australians – teachers and students in metropolitan areas, farmers and small business owners in the regions, young and old voters across Labor, Liberal and Green seats in all six states – what they had to say wasn’t as diverse.

In fact, many of their experiences and stressors were very much the same. Cost-of-living pressures were mentioned by every person we spoke to, with an overwhelming feeling of stress about the lack of affordable housing, the price of groceries, the cost of healthcare and Hecs debt among the younger voters.

Here, you can find each person we interviewed and read what they had to say.

Ali El Kheir

… mostly, especially in the past 18 months, we’ve been focused on what is happening in Gaza, in Lebanon, where I have family, in Yemen and in Sudan. These things, they weigh heavy on me and the community here.

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Runs a cafe and manages a wrestling gym in western Sydney, NSW

Paul Tripodi

Right now I’m probably doing 65-70 hours a week, which is a bit excessive. Yeah, I don’t really want to work like that.

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Runs a restaurant in Adelaide, South Australia

Lilly Wright

I’m always thinking about what the [Ballarat] council can do to help small businesses. A lot of people say the first year is the hardest and then it’s going to get easier but so far that’s not the case.

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Runs a Malaysian and Indonesian cafe in Ballarat, Victoria

Brent Daylight

Indigenous Australians face such harsh stereotypes but there are plenty of successful First Nation businesses and I want to be one of them.

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Runs his own business and works a second job in Perth, Western Australia

Todd Boorer

One of the things that bugs people a lot [is] when politicians try to kind of be one of us, pretend they are just like the man on the street, because they’re not.

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Works six days a week running a mowing business in Lake Macquarie, NSW

Ed Bryant

Hecs debt, that’s a big problem. It’s indexing more than what I pay off working full-time on a graduate teacher’s salary.

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Teacher and soccer coach in Melbourne, Victoria

John Sparrow

You used to have prime ministers showing the way and making things work but I think the last good prime minister was before my time, when they were building the Snowy Mountains Scheme …

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Retired farmer in Tailem Bend, South Australia

Holli Brunckhorst

… They are upping my rent from the end of the month by $50. It was $260 a week when I moved in four years ago and now it will be $400, which is a lot.

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Nanny and speech therapy assistant in Brisbane, Queensland

Federico Canas Velasco

Things like groceries are absolutely ridiculous. The price of eggs! Medicare, too. I recently just hurt my finger and it was so hard to find any GPs that were bulk-billing in my area.

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Student and part-time worker in Sydney, NSW

Chantelle Campbell

Don’t let the supermarkets get away with what they’re getting away with. A box of tacos are on special this week for $9 when the standard price always used to be $5.

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Owns a clothing store in Exeter and lives in Bishopsbourne, Tasmania

Will Gromadzki

We’re not slack, we’re not a lazy generation. We cop a little bit of flak from the older generation, but I work my bum off.

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Landscaper from Adelaide, South Australia

Irfan Syed

My biggest stress is supporting my special-needs kids as much as I can – that’s a big challenge for us. Thankfully, we have NDIS and government support. Without that, it’s really an impossible task for anybody.

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IT worker from Melbourne, Victoria

Ann-Marie Thomas

I’m so angry with all the politicians. Every time you turn the TV on, the first thing you hear are all these things like ‘let’s abolish welcome to country’. Why? I don’t understand what it’s costing. I think it’s beautiful. Is it only me that sees the beauty in it because I’m Aboriginal?

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Nurse in Toomelah, Queensland

Amelia Makin

I don’t trust anyone, but I get all my information from Instagram or YouTube.

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Student and cafe worker in Melbourne, VIC