Sheryl Lowe, Naracoorte Community News
One week into a two-week time frame to decide his political future, Member for McKillop Nick McBride MP confirmed he had consulted with members of his electorate as he considered how “I can best serve my constituents and my electorate.”
Following these discussions he released the following statement on Monday 20th September, “I wish to advise my commitment to continue as the Liberal Member for MacKillop. After productive discussions with the Premier Steven Marshall and Treasurer Rob Lucas we have committed to improve the flow of communication between the Parliamentary Party and regional members.”
The Member for MacKillop is a strong advocate for his constituents, especially the difficult challenges faced by border communities and more recently the South Australians caught in border crossing restrictions due to the pandemic.
Mr McBride asked the Premier Steven Marshall recently, where the resources were to bring home thousands of South Australians stuck at the borders of South Australia and Victoria. After a terse response from the Premier, Mr McBride announced on September 13th he was rethinking his political future.
This week he said, “the establishment of a monthly regional members forum is a measure that I welcome and look forward to participating in.”
“I intend to continue to work hard for my Electorate and my party, and remain committed to ensure the best outcomes for my constituents.”
Mr McBride told The [Naracoorte Community] News he is happy with the outcome. He has “greater lines of communication within the party” and the difficulties he experienced getting traction for important issues in the past have been removed, he said.
“It may have appeared I wasn’t a team player when I chose to ‘cross the floor’ on issues, but at the time I felt it was my only option to get attention for important matters.”
“I am confident with this new line of communication available to me, I can not only continue to work hard for my electorate, but have better outcomes.”
“In recent days my office and has witnessed a reduction in the backlog of applications from people stuck at the South Australian/Victorian border. They have been contacted and communication about what is expected of them to cross the border into South Australia, is being made clearer through better communication.”
“This doesn’t mean we will open the borders to everyone immediately and potentially put South Australians at risk, but the people sleeping in parks, on floors and in crowded motels have been contacted and ‘some’ have crossed the border already. And I do say ‘some’, but we can see improvement in the communication in just a few days and that’s good.”
Member for Mt Gambier Troy Bell MP has also seen an improvement in his electorate, Mr McBride said.
This article appeared in Naracoorte Community News, 29 September 2021.
Related stories: McBride straddles border issues and party; McBride crosses floor for border community.
