When he’s not in the parliament helping run the state of Victoria he finds time to go home. Where he is an ordinary resident – a ‘bloke next door’ – living in regional Victoria.
And despite all that time he does spend in Melbourne when it comes to spending whenever possible he only does it at home.
Because he knows how vital every dollar going through the tills of local business is for the longevity of the local economy.
“For me the most obvious thing is the number of sporting clubs, schools, service organisations and individuals who go to those local small businesses asking for donations and sponsorships for their clubs and causes,” Mr Walsh said.
And he was putting his money where his mouth is – when the Riv caught up with him he had just come out of an Echuca bookstore with two novels and was about to duck into a pharmacy and spend a bit more locally.
“Amazon, I can assure you, does not sponsor the Under 12s, will not give you some prizes for a fundraising raffle or auction and won’t offer your teenagers a part-time job in your hometown,” Mr Walsh added.
“But they will take your money and not one cent of that will be circulated in Echuca,” he said.
“The same goes for any of those big online marketers – they have no allegiance to your town, no investment in its future.
“I am urging everyone to look local when it comes to spending money – the more that local economy thrives the better off we will all be in the long run. Because if we do stop supporting local business and start to lose a shop here and a shop there, suddenly the ripple effect multiplies.
“A family leaves town looking for a job elsewhere and school numbers take a hit, sporting team numbers take a hit – if it happens too much and number do drop then the ripple becomes a destructive wave.
“That’s not what any of us want.”
Mr Walsh said Echuca and surrounds were in the middle of a strong market for everything from property values to job opportunities.
But he said growth requires constant investment and $1 spent at a local shop is a dollar that ends up in the pocket of your neighbour, as part of a sporting sponsorship, as a casual wage for older teenagers and to help expand the range of goods the retrial sector here has to offer.”
Mr Walsh said initiatives such as the annual Easter Shop Local competition were “fantastic opportunities for all the locals”.
He said not only do you get to support local business, “it is supporting you as well”.
“Having Forty Winks put up more than $5000 in prize money to be spent at any participating shop is a spectacular gesture,” Mr Walsh added.
“And I have never seen anything here on that scale sponsored by any digital marketer,” he said. “So please, think carefully the next time you are looking to buy something.
“If you buy local you aren’t just getting the item you wanted, you are buying a future for your town and everyone in it.”
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