Sarah Herrmann, Yorke Peninsula Country Times
Politicians Jacqui Lambie and Rex Patrick visited Kadina last week as part of a regional South Australian road trip ahead of next year’s federal election.
Mr Patrick, who was previously a senator with the Centre Alliance and as an independent, is running for a Senate seat for SA as part of Tasmanian Senator Jacqui Lambie’s party The Lambie Network.
“At the moment, we don’t have (an independent in the Senate from SA), which means you’ve got a whole bunch of people that are generally constrained by their party lines,” Mr Patrick said.
“They’re not really allowed to necessarily come out and talk about particular issues.”
During the pair’s time in Kadina on Monday, October 28, they held a meet-and-greet at Kadina Cinema, and walked the streets of Wallaroo.
Mr Patrick said people they spoke to were concerned about the cost of living and energy prices for small businesses, as well as the shortage of grain due to this year’s weather.
“The price of grain usually goes up (when there’s a short supply), that’s not happening, and that’s a real worry,” he said.
Ms Lambie said they would look at relief options for this, and that it was important to listen to rural people’s opinions about agriculture, irrigation, manufacturing and food security.
“It really places a strain on the farmers, but then that actually flows through pretty much everywhere, throughout the community, because there’s less money around, there’s a lot of pressure,” she said.
“(Regional) people have a voice, and they deserve to be heard,” Ms Lambie said.
Ms Lambie and Mr Patrick visited during Gambling Harm Action Week (October 27 to November 2).
Both politicians have expressed strong views about gambling legislation, and Ms Lambie said she was disappointed it was not on the government’s agenda.
“We had Peta Murphy’s inquiry more than a year ago, and the government simply hasn’t acted upon it,” she said.
“The government could do us all a favour and ban gambling donations and advertising.”
This article appeared in Yorke Peninsula Country Times, 5 November 2024.
