Federal Member for Farrer David Farley (centre) with Deniliquin Business Chamber president Angela Parker and Edward River Council CEO Jack Bond.
Water security, rising costs and the long-term future of regional communities are dominating conversations as Federal Member for Farrer David Farley continues on his ‘Grand Farrer Winter Tour’.
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His first chance to get back to many electorate communities since his election in May, the One Nation member said he’s meeting with business chambers, councils, industry representatives and community groups to firm up his priority areas for his term.
Travelling through communities including Albury, Greater Hume, Urana, Narrandera, Leeton, Griffith and Corowa before visiting the Edward River and Murray River council and regions last week, Mr Farley said several common themes had emerged.
“What we're finding is a pretty common theme, especially in this part of the electorate,” he said.
“Water plays a big role because it's such a driver of the economy here.
“The next thing that plays a big role, of course, is price of energy. Both fuel energy and electrical energy is big.
“Another constant in it all is health.”
He also met with the Conargo community on the proposed review of Conargo Public School, which could see it go in to recess for at least two years.
Mr Farley said many residents and businesses were concerned about the ongoing impacts of water recovery under the Murray-Darling Basin Plan.
“As we go into with zero allocations, both in the Murrumbidgee and the Murray coming in, farmers haven't got confidence,” he said.
“Therefore, the community hasn't got confidence, and commerce is paying the price for it.”
He said reduced water availability was affecting not only irrigators but also processing industries and regional employment.
“Anything and everything that's driven from water, grown from water, that was processed for water - all that economic multiplier that ultimately went back into the communities through the ripple effect - has just been lost,” Mr Farley said.
Meetings with local councils also highlighted concerns about inflation and the financial pressures facing regional local government.
“A lot of our conversation focused around how do we keep our regional councils functioning properly in a world of inflation,” he said, pointing to rising costs for roads, wages and essential services.
Mr Farley said councils were being forced to choose between operating under increasing financial strain or passing costs on to ratepayers.
Deni Ute Muster general manager Vicky Lowry with Federal Member for Farrer David Farley.
The local member also met with the Deniliquin Business Chamber and visited the Deni Ute Muster site, praising both as examples of regional resilience and innovation.
“The chamber is up for the challenge. They demonstrate courage as a community representing their community.”
Speaking about the iconic Ute Muster, Mr Farley described it as “a great model for the community”, noting its volunteer-driven structure and significant economic benefits.
He hopes to be able to attend his first Deni Ute Muster this year.
“It'll attract 20,000 plus, and the economic impact on the township itself and the shire is just massive,” he said.
Reflecting on his first weeks in federal politics, Mr Farley said the transition from business to Parliament had been steep.
“It's like drinking from a fire hose. There's so much coming at you.”
Despite the learning curve of entering Parliament, Mr Farley said his focus remained clear.
“My title might be MP for Farrer, but underneath that it says representative,” Mr Farley said.
“What I'm here to do is to represent the Farrer constituency, commerce and community at the federal level.
“First of all, I think everything's baby steps at the start because we're we're not in government, and we're on the backbench.
“At the moment, water's managed with a bias towards the environment, but there's only one thing that's going to pay down the national debt, and that's productivity.
“And where do you get productivity from? From people and resources.
“The reality of the best investment Australia's got if it wants to get productivity back is to use its natural resources, and water is one of them.
“Water is a powerful, powerful investment for all of Australia if it's managed properly.”
