Securing the tick of approval from young Australians was crucial in the federal election at the weekend with young voter enrollment at an all-time high.
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Wagga's Caitlin Langley, 31, said she found the result of the election to be disheartening as she was hoping to see meaningful change.
"Rather than having campaigns based on what people are going to do it seemed to be based on consequences of voting for the opposition," she said.
Ms Langley found her key concerns when it came to voting were climate policies, penalty rate cuts and health policies.
"The elected government has made no efforts to acknowledge or deal with climate change and its effects," she said. "As a young voter it is particularly devastating to see the policies around penalty rates and franking credits. Millennials are living in a world where we can't afford a house."
Jacob Heard, 19, said he was pleased with the result, especially for the Riverina electorate.
"As a son of a farmer, and growing up in the agriculture industry, I felt that in these tough times we would not have had the support of the Labor," he said.
"Something that stuck out for me was the Nationals were willing to lend a land and funding where it is needed. I was also looking for policies that I felt would be beneficial to me as a uni student."
A 22-year-old man, who wished to remain anonymous, said he was disappointed but not shocked by the results of the election campaign.
"Especially with regards to the Nationals retaining the Riverina," he said. "I have never seen anyone other than a National in my seat.
"I don't have a particular dislike for them ... I tend to look at policies across all parties, but is frustrating when the majority of voters - being the baby boomers - tend to stick to the Coalition without much thought."
The 22-year-old said his voting was informed mainly by concern for the climate.
"The Greens, however, promise zero coal emissions by 2030 and I didn't find they had strong enough plans," he said.
One aspect all three Riverina residents agreed upon was that politicians need to take young voters, and their concerns, more seriously.
"The bigger two parties were mainly talking towards the older demographic and that does need to change because we are the future," Mr Heard said.
"They pretty much dismissed us, which is frustrating," Ms Langley said.
"I don't think politicians take young voters as seriously as we like ... I think they could use social media more to interact," the 22-year-old man said.