Federal politics

Warren Entsch says he has no intention of pulling the pin early and will see out his ninth and final term in parliament ... “I have kept just about every single promise I have made in politics and I will see out the full duration of this term ... It was a respectful campaign from Labor but they sensed their chance and put a lot more work in this time around.”

"The NFF looks forward to continuing our productive relationship with Prime Minister Anthony Albanese and his leadership team on the priority issues for agriculture and the bush. Prime Minister Albanese has always demonstrated strong support for our sector’s opportunities and challenges. We were delighted to host the now Prime Minister in person at NFF’s National Conference in April" : NFF President, Fiona Simson.

NSW Farmers CEO Pete Arkle says the future of agriculture must be a focus for the incoming Labor government. With Australians voting for change at Saturday’s poll, Mr Arkle said there were clear challenges and opportunities for the new cabinet.

National Farmers’ Federation President Fiona Simson: "This election, the NFF was looking for ideas and funding commitments to propel the farm sector’s growth trajectory and to give the support regional Australia needs to reach its potential. Unfortunately, all parties have fallen short ... The NFF was shocked and frustrated, when at the eleventh hour this week Anthony Albanese put a red pen through the $500 million Regionalisation Fund. This announcement was not included in Labor’s official response to the NFF." The Coalition’s regionalisation plan also falls short of the $4.1 billion ask from the NFF.

Chris Oldfield. “For an elderly person - or any person - with blood cancer to be forced to get on a bus to Adelaide or Warrnambool to see a haematologist while they are very sick, navigate their way to the specialist, then find and pay for accommodation, then get back on a bus for up to 450kms (to return home)– well it’s a disgrace”: Senate hopeful Nick Xenophon.

To demonstrate the magnitude of ignorance, look no further than the coffers of Australia’s largest irrigator, the taxpayer funded Commonwealth Environmental Water Holder (CEWH). For the 2021-22 season, the CEWH has a total of 2,365,000 megalitres – 1,640,000 in new allocation and 725,000 in carryover from the year previous – 1,030,400 of that in the Murray system. As of March 31, 2022, the CEWH had used 492,200 megalitres in the Murray system for the 2021-22 season.

A Charles Sturt University early childhood education expert asks where in the 2022 election campaign is the commitment to big investment and to big policy ideas that ensure free and accessible early childhood education for the long-term? Dr Leanne Gibbs tells ARR.News how the challenges in workforce supply and retention in the ECE sector are even greater in rural, regional and remote areas within Australia.

Kookaburra decided that it could be helpful for readers of Australian Rural & Regional News if we were to conduct a survey of independent candidates from across rural and regional Australia to find out which party group they would support in the event of a hung Parliament.

More than 50 new homes will be built in Cape York communities to address major overcrowding issues, but the state government has taken all the credit, despite using federal funding. Not for the first time, the health and wellbeing of Queensland’s most remote and vulnerable residents has been politicised.

In an election campaign of hits and misses for farmers and regional Australia, the National Farmers’ Federation has revealed how the major parties stack up against its election priorities, rating them in a Policy Voting Guide.

In order to assist readers of Australian Rural & Regional News to obtain some more policy detail from candidates running for rural and regional seats at the up and coming Federal election, Kookaburra has put together a list of questions on some critical issues which one might expect any candidate standing for Parliament to be able to answer ... 1. If you are an independent candidate, in the event of a hung Parliament, will you support the formation of a Coalition or an ALP minority government?

“It is impossible for this to be achieved by 2024. So, what happens then? Will we have huge volumes of water sitting in dams supposedly for ‘environmental use’ that cannot be released because it won’t fit down the system, but not enough water allocated to growing the food and fibre our nation needs? Under this scenario, regional communities will continue to suffer, and every Australian will be hit by increased cost of living" : Speak Up Chair, Shelley Scoullar.

Kirstin Nicholson. 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 ... 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.

When you head to the voting booth, you will be listing the Page candidates 1 to 10. One is your first choice, 2 is your second and so on. Number 10 is for your least favourite candidate. Your preferences matter.

Geoff Helisma. Election campaigns cost money, lots of money. The major parties, which more often than not form governments in their own right, have a distinct advantage when it comes to funding multi-million-dollar campaigns. But, over recent weeks it’s the ‘teal’ independent candidates who have emerged as a threat to the current government’s re-election. The Independent spoke with teal independent, Hanabeth Luke, who is contesting the Page electorate.

"It is a great honour to be our community’s representative in Canberra. I have and always will have, our community’s interests front and centre. This is the most important election in recent history – it is about jobs, flood recovery and cost of living” : Federal Member for Page, Kevin Hogan.