And then she launches into a riff about politics which shows that she is intelligent and well informed. She clearly watches a lot of news, both local and global.

"Whatever is happening now isn't working and we need a more forward thinking government so when crises happen, we are ahead of the pack," she said.

She was one of the voters The Canberra Times talked to in the run-up to the Eden-Monaro by-election. It wasn't a scientifically-chosen, representative sample of the electorate but it did give a flavour of what was on people's minds.

And the issues people are worried about are the big, even global, ones.

The usual rule is that by-elections are about very specific, local concerns - but this time, the fears are different. Bushfires, smoke, plague, an assertive China and race riots seem to overshadow worries about the bumpy state of the roads.

Donna Sherriff's attitude was typical: dismay at the state of politics combined with an intense interest in the state of politics (even as she says she's not interested).

She listed her worries while she, together with her daughter, Shannon, and granddaughter, Elsie, sat in the thin winter sun on the steps of the bandstand in Ryrie Park in Braidwood.

"Drought, fire, flood and now riots," she said.

"Something has been missed in the world. I don't think people are being listened to."

Mother and daughter then looked at Elsie who has her first birthday on June 18.

"What I would do to be her age and not be aware of it all," Donna Sherriff said.

Elsie's mother, Shannon Sherriff, adds: "Innocence is bliss".

If there is a burning anger against the current federal government, it's hard to detect.

Prime Minister Scott Morrison's approval ratings have risen in the national polls - his trip to Hawaii during the bushfires seems to have receded - and the impression on the ground is that the government has some approval.

A grandmother pushing her three-year-old granddaughter in a pram said, "I am not a Liberal voter but the government has been doing a good job."

She said Treasurer Josh Frydenberg (of whom she said, "I was never a fan") had risen in her estimation.

She, too, is dismayed about politics, particularly the alleged tit-for-tat way of cheap arguing.

"Look at the way politics was before the fires and [COVID-19]. It was short-term. It's not understanding the real needs of the people.

"I'm not sure about ScoMo himself but even Labor will still go back to their old stupid ways."

For others in the town, climate change has gone up the agenda after the town was so severely threatened. The North Black Range blaze came within a kilometre of Braidwood.

"I don't think much of ScoMo after the bushfires," Tom Alder said. "That put me off."

"My biggest concern is climate change. That's a really big concern. I think we are going to see more devastating fires.

"I usually vote Green or Labor and I probably will this time, too."

Dismay about politicians was echoed by James Gunderson as he sold coffees from his "Cafe 134" on the main street.

"The quality of politicians has gone down," he said.

He thought that he and the town would ride out the coming economic tempest.

"I'm realistic. We all have to pay taxes. It's going to be hard for the next few years. We are going to be in a recession," he said.

This sense of acceptance of a situation was common.

"I'm not a pessimist. I think we'll be OK," Ernie Hegedus said as he leaned on the bike he peddles 36 kilometres from his home in Currajuggle Creek to and from Braidwood.

"Over the years, the policies come and go but we are living in a good country."

He thought politicians lacked character these days. "I miss people like Keating," he said.

Read: Eden-Monaro byelection: Four Nationals to contest for preselection