At his campaign hub in the Victorian seaside town of Warrnambool, Alex Dyson is asked how he reaches voters in an electorate bigger than the size of Belgium.
The former radio presenter and aspiring independent MP for the seat of Wannon then makes an admission not many career politicians would.
"I don't get paid to do this — it's all volunteer work, so I do have to keep up my part-time podcasting job," he told SBS News.
"But I've also started Uber driving in Warrnambool, and you're the first person I've talked to about that."
You're able to meet people that may not necessarily be into politics for good reason and have a chat.
It's a "side-hustle" Dyson says he's done most Saturdays for around two months, declaring he still has a five-star rating.
"Haven't picked up [MP] Dan Tehan yet though, so I'm not sure if he might drop that down."
Dyson is referring to the incumbent Liberal MP, a former minister under previous Coalition governments.
Tehan has held Wannon for 15 years, and his opponent concedes it will be an uphill battle to dislodge him this .
"[It] would be one of the biggest upsets in the Australian political landscape. We're very much still coming from behind," Dyson said.
But he thinks the electorate is ready for change.
Alex Dyson, a former radio presenter and part-time Uber driver, is an aspiring independent MP for the seat of Wannon. Source: SBS News
"Healthcare, seeing a GP is really difficult, childcare waitlists are out of control, aged care is also struggling, but [I am] also advocating for regional people and people on the land," he said.
Dyson first ran against Tehan in 2019, creating headlines when he performed an interpretative dance to publicise his policy platform.
Dyson gained around 10 per cent of the primary vote in that election before running again in 2022 and coming second with 46.1 per cent of votes after preferences.
A recent YouGov poll suggests he could win the electorate by a slim margin of 1 per cent.
A 'big fight' for the incumbent
Tehan, who has held numerous ministerial roles in past Coalition governments, said he's achieved positive outcomes for his electorate, including "record funding" for roads in Wannon.
"People know that a Coalition government will focus on delivering that road funding," Tehan told SBS News.
Dan Tehan has been the MP for Wannon for 15 years. Source: SBS News
"But you always fight for your electorate whether you're in government, or you'e in opposition."
Asked about Dyson, Tehan said every election had its challenges.
"With this one, Labor, the Greens and the teals are about putting up a big fight, a well-funded fight from Climate 200," he said, referring to Dyson's links to the crowd-funded climate organisation.
"But for me, with every election campaign, it's just been to make sure you focus on running a good, positive campaign yourself."
The 'teal' label
Both Climate 200, a crowd-funded group that backs independent candidates who want action on climate change, and the Regional Voices Fund, which supports regional independent candidates, have made significant financial contributions to Dyson's campaign.
But Dyson said he has been transparent about this and also points to roughly 1,500 individual donors who are publicly listed on his website.
Sitting in a campaign office draped in orange, he also dismisses the teal label.
"I've been running as an independent before that even existed," he said.
"We may be a much bigger operation now, but it's still that core of fairness at the very heart of our campaign."
On the prospect of being elected in a hung parliament, Dyson refrained from saying whether he would lean towards supporting a minority Labor or Coalition government.
"Absolutely not, I'm so excited though, that finally the people of Wannon, the community here in south-west Victoria, will be in a position where both leaders will have to listen to our concerns," he said.
Drought conditions 'a potential major disaster'
In an election largely contested over inflation and the cost of living, a looming drought is adding to the strain for farmers in Wannon.
According to the Bureau of Meteorology, the past 24 months have brought the lowest amount of rainfall on record for parts of south-west Victoria.
Only a few minutes out of Warrnambool, farmer Ben Pohlner operates Volcano Produce, an organic fruit and vegetable farm.
Ben Pohlner is worried about drought conditions in Victoria. Source: SBS News
"If we don't get significant rains over this winter, come early December and throughout 2026, there is going to be dire financial hardship in this region, and that's something we need to start planning for now," he told SBS News.
He said they have been irrigating for 18 months straight.
"Normally, we'd only irrigate for two or three weeks in a year," he said.
"We've found it exceptionally difficult. We've never faced anything like this before."
Dairy farmer and mother-of-two Chloe Brown is grappling with dried-out paddocks with no grass for her livestock. She's had to buy grain and hay for her 180 Jersey cows.
"This is the lowest I've ever seen. My father-in-law who's been here for 60 years, it's the lowest he's ever seen," she said.
With costs still rolling in for farmers, on top of paying for water and feed to be trucked in, United Dairy Farmers of Victoria president Bernard Free said it's time for governments to "step up to the plate".
He's calling on the federal government to consider interest rate subsidy grants for farmers in areas affected by drought.
During the Millennium drought, state and federal governments provided $4 billion in assistance through grants, with $2.6 billion contributed by the Commonwealth government, which covered 50 per cent of the interest on new and existing loans taken out by farmers.
"It doesn't look like much, but [it helps] when people show they care about what you're trying to do. We do feed Victoria and the world."
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