Even the little things can make a difference to the problem of homelessness.

For independent Ray Dyer, that would be about 20 4x2-inch blocks of wood, a tarpaulin and a fire bucket, set up as temporary shelters in Wodonga, Wangaratta or Benalla.

“They could even camp in there and keep warm,” he said.

“That will help the homelessness greatly.”

The comments were made on Wednesday evening at YWCA Albury-Wodonga’s candidates forum, the first chance Mr Dyer and fellow independent Alan Lappin had to address a public group.

But Coalition candidates Sophie Mirabella and Marty Corboy did not attend.

Cathy McGowan, Greens candidate Jenny O’Connor and Labor’s Eric Kerr made up the rest of the panel to answer questions from a small crowd of about 30 people.

The five candidates often agreed on topics, such as more humane treatment of asylum seekers, making for a more harmonious forum than others during the campaign so far.

Ms McGowan, who has said she would work with either a Liberal or Labor government on an off-shore detention policy, questioned Mr Kerr’s choice to not support his party on the issue.

"If elected would you cross the floor and be expelled from from the party?" she said.

Mr Kerr responded, "absolutely, they can try".

“The real cost of that is human life – it doesn’t look like taxpayers’ money is being invested in any right way,” he said.

Ms O’Connor, who worked as an intake worker until the closure of Medicare local, was critical of a lack of mental health funding for rural areas.

“That was defunded by Sussan Ley and the whole thing’s been knocked over, so I was affected, I lost my job,” she said.

“We’re talking about the failure of social policy … rural mental health, which has a huge impact across this region, has just been decimated by this right-wing government.”

YWCA board member Jodie Nolan said child care issues should be seen as a family and economics issue, not a women’s one, and asked the candidates’ position on federal government changes to child care rebates.

Mr Lappin said he saw it as a “great privilege” to babysit his four-year-old granddaughter.

“Women are not properly supported because most women these days have to go out and work and we need to have women respected for doing the work,” he said.

“If they’re taking care of children, the next generation, we should make sure their finances, that are available to them through government support, is of a proper living standard.”