On the map the electorate of Aston looks like a rectangle that has been squeezed by a very large fist and, as a metaphor for middle Australia, that might not be a bad description. On the outer edge of Melbourne's east, brushing the foothills of the Dandenongs, the comfortable brick veneer facades put a brave face on what, for quite a few, is a land of unease. The area has a tradition based in manufacturing that, at last count, employed more than 20 per cent of the workforce. This is an area sensitive to the free trade policies of the economic rationalists, but it also benefits from foreign investment.
Locals list, with despair, the number of factories that seem to be closing.
Anne Kelly from Wantirna works in an op shop for the Villa Maria blind society. Every week we seem to read in the local paper about factories shutting down. The big Vulcan place in Scoresby was the latest. It hits the lower incomes hardest. Every time you get a bill there is the GST on this and the GST on that.