The roads are hot in Melton, a satellite town on the north-western fringe of Melbourne. Juvenile trees planted alongside new homes, which sprawl for kilometres on end, are yet to provide shade.
The residents of these homes and millions like them across the nation may be key to this election. Just ask the treasurer, Jim Chalmers, who believes “a battle of the burbs” will decide the victor on 3 May. Who responds best to the cost-of-living crisis wins.
