Undecided, uninterested, unsure: major parties vie to flip long-held seats of Reid and Parramatta

As kayakers and fishers fiddle around on the boat ramp, she stands in the shade with her newborn in a carrier and contemplates her vote in the marginal electorate of Reid.

So, why the change?

Held by the Liberal party on a margin of just 3.2%, Reid is one of a few key NSW seats being targeted by Labor as it seeks to win government on 21 May. Internally, the party is confident of winning the seat, held by the moderate Liberal party MP Fiona Martin.

In 2022, western Sydney is, as always, a tantalising prospect for both major parties. As Labor hunts Reid, the Coalition believes it is in with a chance in the neighbouring seat of Parramatta, where Labor has preselected the economist Andrew Charlton, a former adviser to Kevin Rudd who was parachuted into the seat despite opposition from the local party.

Others are similarly inclined. In Harris Park, a suburb outside Parramatta with a large Indian-Australian population, Ramesh Vyas and his two friends Dinesh and Chiman Patel are all voting for Labor.

And so back to Reid.

Stretching from the wealthy inner-west suburbs of Drummoyne and Five Dock to diverse, densely populated Strathfield and out to the true west around Lidcombe and Homebush, campaigning in Reid requires a deft touch.

In the leafy bayside suburbs in and around Drummoyne, voters tend to have more in common with the wealthy eastern suburbs, where independents like Allegra Spender are causing headaches for moderate Liberal MPs. Usually a Liberal-dominated voting area, many residents here cite climate change and a federal integrity commission as key issues.

Not everyone agrees, of course. Fiona Sarkis, a lawyer from the neighbouring suburb of Russell Lea, thinks Morrison is unfairly criticised, and appreciates the job he did in guiding the country through the worst of the Covid-19 pandemic.