Kirstin Nicholson, The Koondrook and Barham Bridge Newspaper
Sophie Baldwin wants to make a change. The Cohuna born and bred woman is standing in the upcoming federal election. She is the first woman from this district to stand in a federal election, and the first person to stand as an independent.
Sophie was born in Cohuna and attended Cohuna Consolidated School and Cohuna Secondary College. She and her then husband dairy farmed in the district before moving to Echuca for a short time with their two daughters. While on the break from farming, Sophie began working as a journalist with Country News and continued that when the family returned to farming at Gunbower. While she is no longer farming, it continues to be one of her passions.
Sophie has returned to her roots and is happy to once again be a Cohuna resident.
Passionate about water advocacy, in 2020, she started working with Southern Riverina Irrigators and it soon became evident that someone needed to have a louder and stronger voice. With a little prompting from peers, she decided to stand in the federal election so she could make a difference.
“I put my hand up in good faith to try and make a change,” said Sophie. “I can see that there’s such a disconnect now between rural communities and the city and that is getting wider, and that means that our issues are not prioritised.”
Sophie says she stood as an independent because she didn’t fit into any party, and it was the only way she would stand. “When you stand with a party, there seems to be a lot of people who toe the party line, and I would struggle with that. I am genuinely in there for my community, and I couldn’t sell my soul.
“As an independent, you get to talk to the people and represent the room. You don’t have to worry about a party line. You can represent your communities better.”
Once signed up and committed, Sophie hit the ground running and has not stopped since. She and her volunteer support team have laid the foundation for the election campaign, travelled the Mallee electorate and participated in five candidate forums. While the days start early and there’s been a lot of driving (20,000km in the past couple of months), a lot of talking, and a lot of meeting with community and hearing their concerns, Sophie makes sure she gets a daily run, walk or swim for her own wellbeing.
Despite the campaign being hard work, Sophie says she is rewarded when she enters different communities across the electorate and sees the actions of community members to make their own communities better.
While it has been a whirlwind campaign for the first-time candidate, she wouldn’t have it any other way. She is overwhelmed by assistance and support offered by members of her local community and constituents further afield.
If she is elected, the community can expect representation. “I’m here to listen. It’s for people to come to me and tell me what their issues are and facilitate a way to get them addressed. People want to be heard and shown the courtesy that they matter. They want results as well, but they want the courtesy, and someone they can approach and talk to, and have a way to move forward with their issues. I’ll be advocating for farming, water and the environment, that’s my passion.”
“This election is a real opportunity for change for people – to think about their vote and number every box 1-8 in whatever order that is they want. Donkey votes don’t help anything. With the political climate we are in now, your voice really does count and can drive the politics that we have in the future.”
In a safe National Party seat of 75 years, she has her work cut out for her. We will know once vote counting is complete following the election on Saturday, May 21.
This article appeared in The Koondrook and Barham Bridge Newspaper, 12 May 2022.
