Eden-monaro byelection voters in Tumut who spoke to The Daily Advertiser on Monday said their most important issue for the campaign was how to help the region recover from two disasters in a row.
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Farmers, property owners and timber and horticulture industries in the Snowy Valleys council area were already reeling from the bushfires in January when the coronavirus pandemic hit.
Voters differed on how the federal government and the byelection campaign could help Tumut and the region recover.
Ground Up Tumut bike and scooter shop owner Michelle Rossiter said she wanted to see the region promoted as a tourism destination.
"We've got such an amazing backdrop here but we aren't making much use of it," she said.
"There's so much more we could be doing to open up the region for tourism.
"Tumut has always been a working town but I think we need to look at new ways of growing the economy rather than just rely on the industries that are here."
"There's so much more we could be doing to open up the region for tourism."
- Ground Up Tumut bike and scooter shop owner Michelle Rossiter
Ms Rossiter said improved camping at Blowering Dam and upgrading Brindabella Road to cut down travel times from Canberra could help promote tourism.
Some voters declined to comment as they had not had time to read up on all the candidates.
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Tumut resident Jenny, who declined to give her surname, said the region needed a bigger share of the new jobs from building the Snowy 2.0 hydroelectricity project.
"Local people are getting some jobs but there are a lot of people coming in from outside," she said.
"We still needed support to recover from the bushfires and then along came the coronavirus."
Grant Brown, who has spent the past few months repairing Tumut's telecommunications after the bushfires, said it was hard to recover when people were still living in temporary accommodation and farmers were still replacing fences.
"Coronavirus took the bushfire recovery off the agenda," he said.
The Eden-Monaro byelection day has been set for July 4.
Eligible residents will have until 8pm on June 4 to enroll to vote or update their details.
Candidates will be able to nominate until midday on June 9.