The seat of Paterson may have been largely neglected by the Liberal Party power brokers but that has not stopped its candidate Sachin Joshi from focusing on the campaign trail just days out from Saturday's election.
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The 49-year-old father of two who took the chance to migrate from his hometown in India to start a new life in Australia admits the campaign has for him personally been intense, that it has had it challenges but that overall it has been a worthwhile experience.
"I realise I am the underdog in this election ... this is my first attempt at politics and I am grateful for the support from the party membership and people like [Senator] Arthur Sinodinos and I have received a lot of positive feedback from voters," he said.
Mr Joshi said he has had to make sacrifices, including renouncing his multiple entry visa to India and placing his job on hold for six weeks, "but it has all been worth it".
A former civic engineer who settled in Maitland eight years ago to start a business consultancy firm, Mr Joshi said that he joined the Liberal Party because of its values, freedoms and enterprise opportunities to all individuals.
"I decided to stand for election because I realised to make change you have to be within the system," he said.
"The two areas I am passionate about are small business and mental health. I want to champion more opportunities and tax breaks for small businesses and I applaud the government's increasing mental health funding to $4.8 billion this year.
"First home buyers in Paterson will receive a helping hand to get into the housing market through a new government initiative to slash the amount of money needed for home loan deposits.
"From January 1 next year, a re-elected Morrison government will give first home buyers the chance to get into the market with a deposit of 5 per cent.
"And everyone earning more than $40,000 will be better off under the Coalition when compared to Labor by the time our personal income tax relief plan is fully rolled out (2024-25)."
Mr Joshi said the $1.5 billion budget pledge for the M1 extension project through Raymond Terrace was a massive investment and that infrastructure spending would remain a priority.
On the PFAS contamination issue affecting hundreds of families in WIlliamtown and surrounds, Mr Joshi said that he felt genuine sympathy for the residents living in the shadows of health concerns and threat of property value loss.
"The government is looking at long-term sustainable solutions, including budgeting $4.7 million in remediation research," Mr Joshi said about the Liberal Party's position on PFAS.
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