Independent Mallee candidate Sophie Baldwin has travelled vast distances across Mallee for the past few weeks.
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"We would have done at least 20,000 (kilometres) already, at least," Ms Baldwin said.
"I got my car serviced in March and it's about nearly due again."
Ms Baldwin said that she found there was a recurring theme wherever she went by speaking to voters.
"We're getting a really good response wherever we go; and there seems to be a real appetite for change," Ms Baldwin said.
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However, the reception hasn't always been great, with some of Ms Baldwin's campaign signage being stolen or vandalized, leaving Ms Baldwin "disappointed".
"We're a grassroots on the campaign and every dollar matters for us," Ms Baldwin said.
"We don't have the time or the funds to go around and put them back up or replace them."
Nonetheless, Ms Baldwin said she would keep campaigning across the electorate.
"We've got plans to get to a lot of the little towns that we have and we won't get to them all, but we're making a huge effort to get to as many as we can," she said.
While Mallee is the largest electorate in Victoria, Ms Baldwin said some issues were universal.
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"It is pretty diverse... but everyone, no matter where you go, wants access to daycare, they're wanting access to medical services.
"Telecommunications are an enormous issue, and we've got round six of funding of the Black Spot program coming up; Mallee should feature heavy in that. We've been driving around and there is a lot of black spots."
Ms Baldwin said she also wanted a focus on "nation building infrastructure" to include Mallee.
"We need a standardized rail system for freight and passenger," she said.
"Especially for the aged and those with mobility issues, they've often got to get from a small town to a bigger town for treatment.
"It's pretty hard to get on a bus for some of these people, but you can roll onto a train."
Rail would also bring opportunity in the agricultural sphere, Ms Baldwin said.
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"I come from an agriculture background, so I'm pretty passionate about ensuring we have staple food production," she said.
"There's huge opportunities for rail to reduce the carbon footprint of farming. We can get, I think it's about 180 B-Doubles off the road, you know, behind one freight train.
"So that's a significant carbon saver when the National Farmers Federation is looking to promote agricultural production to reach a hundred billion dollars by 2030.
"I really want to see the narrative between agriculture and environment; you can't have one without the other.
"Our farmers need a healthy environment... so tree plantings, carbon sequestration, if we get rail up and running that will reduce emissions, we'll have more efficient delivery systems.
"There's a lot to give in Mallee."
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Ms Baldwin said her approach to preferences also differed from the parties.
"We're not preferencing anyone on our vote card; we're just going to leave that up to the individual voter to choose.
"We know the election's going to be close and it will come down to preferences. So we want people to really think about where they want to see Mallee go."
Ms Baldwin said the range of issues that interested voters had been optimistic.
"We've met young voters, elderly voters, a real cross section of people across a lot of issues," Ms Baldwin said.
"We've had lots of people wanting to talk about refugees and a federal ICAC,"
As part of her campaign, Ms Baldwin is one of several Victorian independent candidates being supported by former MP for Indi, Cathy McGowan.
In the 2013 Federal election, Ms McGowan unseated Liberal MP Sophie Mirabella and held the seat until her retirement in 2019.
Ms McGowan said independent candidates are uniquely positioned to bring about change.
"On the crossbench, if you'll be in a very strong position to call the government to account, to call parliament to account with an ICAC," Ms McGowan said.
But for now, Ms Baldwin is heading back on the road to keep her campaign going.
"We we're out there and we're really trying to make a change and listen to the community," Ms Baldwin said.
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