The youth of Australia will have a dramatic impact on the result of the coming election on Saturday and as one of those youth voters, being 24, there are a number of policies that specifically talk to my generation and decide who gets my vote.

The three main areas of concern for me are Technology, Economy and Environment.
Growing up with computers, internet speeds have always been important and any party that is taking the right step to improving the speeds provided to business around Australia and to homes in the cities and countries is a big plus in my books. The National Broadband Network is an expensive project that is already being implemented by the current government and it would be an ignorant, uninformed party that would threaten such a project, which is what the Liberal party is proposing. I was very disheartened listening to Tony Abbott attempting to explain the party’s policies on technology.

The economy is the second, and most crucial area to be addressed. The Liberal and Labor party both seem to be very much on the same page regarding the economy. If anything, the campaigning from both the Liberals and Labor have annoyed me with negative spins taking away from the important issues of funding, superannuation, taxes and how each party will take this great nation forward.

The third area is Environment. While it is definitely not at the top of my list, the environment is still very important to me. I love this country of ours. It is beautiful and we are very lucky to live in Australia. While proposed emissions trading schemes and fees for carbon may prevent some of the pollution being produced, other methods which will not have dramatic effects on our nation’s economy should be explored. Cleaner energy production is a win for everyone with solar panel technology improving by the day. A token effort to lower our emissions output is not enough; pressure needs to be placed on the countries responsible for the majority of the world’s emissions output.

As you can tell, I strongly believe that the Liberal and Labor party are the only two votes that should be taken into consideration. This is because I want my vote to count. I much prefer the policies of the two main parties than those of the fringe parties. I also think that my vote should count towards someone who has a chance at being elected as Australia’s next Prime Minister.

Who am I going to vote for on Saturday? I honestly cannot say. I was brought up a Liberal and voted Liberal in the last election, I just do not know if Tony Abbott is the person to take this nation forward.