The Riverina State Group has submitted an application with the Australian Electoral Commission (AEC) to register as a political party named The Riverina State.

The objective of The Riverina State Group is to form the Riverina of NSW and the northern areas of Victoria into a State separate from both NSW and Victoria.

The application included a list of 1646 members and was submitted on October 17.

The AEC will process the application over the next few months. President of The Riverina State Group, David Landini said as a political party, The Riverina State intends to stand candidates in the next Federal election in the electorates of Farrer, Riverina, and possibly Parkes and Eden-Monaro in NSW, and Mallee, Nicholls, Indi and possibly Gippsland in Victoria. Mr Landini said the great benefit of being a registered party is in standing candidates, and having the name The Riverina State printed on up to 900,000 voting ballots.

He said this would be an unsurpassable method of putting the desire for State formation into the public domain.

“Voters will have the opportunity to express their support for State formation with their vote,” Mr Landini told The Riverine Grazier.

“Regardless of whether candidates are elected or not, the votes gained will be used to justify a referendum on State formation.

“I am confident this referendum will succeed.

“This will be used to cause the Parliaments of both NSW and Victoria to consent to this formation, and Statehood will occur.

“The decimation of the irrigation and timber industries and the consequent loss of wealth, jobs, and people in these areas, and the proliferation of unsightly and wealth destroying so-called renewable energy projects in the proposed State, are obvious examples of unsatisfactory NSW and Victorian governance.

“The political reality that any protest or complaint is irrelevant due to the insurmountable domination of these States by their urban populations, demands that this Riverina State, separate from both Sydney and Melbourne, be formed.”

The proposed Riverina State will contain the water infrastructure associated with irrigation, as well as large areas of previously logged forest. Mr Landini said this State would ensure those industries are invigorated.

“The benefits of this invigoration will be the great quantity of wealth and jobs created, with these being shared among all the people in this State,” he added.

“Federal Party registration is a monument on the progression of State formation.

The application for NSW State registration has begun, with the application for Victorian State registration to be submitted in the near future.

This article appeared in The Riverine Grazier, 29 October 2025.