Stop Neglecting...

LOUISE BURGE – STOP NEGLECTING RURAL AREAS
Independent candidate for Farrer, Louise Burge, said she was determined to stop rural and regional areas being ignored if she was elected as the representative for Farrer.

Mrs Burge said one of the biggest issues affecting the electorate was the development of the Murray Darling Basin Plan, which has failed to recognise the importance of food production in the Murray Darling system.

“The Water Act 2007 puts the environment ahead of towns and irrigators and we need to get that changed so everyone gets a fair share,” Mrs Burge said.

“It is not good enough that policy announcements are happening in the election period which are failing to address this fundamental problem with the Water Act.

“We need to get a strong, loud and independent voice in Canberra to get this changed, and it has to change, to make sure our communities do not continue to be neglected.

“It is certainly not about forsaking the environment, but there must be a better balance than what the current Water Act dictates,” she said.

Mrs Burge said it was pleasing to see that in the election campaign, rural and regional Australia had finally been considered, and additional funds had been promised to improve stock and domestic water supplies, and agricultural research and development – both of which were long overdue.

“Clearly we need someone in Canberra who is going to stand up and fight for the important issues of our electorate, because we have been ignored with the development of policies in recent years.

“It is blatantly obvious the current and former governments have no idea of the cumulative impacts in rural and regional Australia of their policies.”

Mrs Burge said the decisions such as dissolving Australia’s main wheat brokering asset, the single desk wheat marketing system; promoting managed investment schemes for large companies which then totally distort markets for smaller growers; and the Water Act which places the environment ahead of people and towns, are just three examples of how previous governments have treated rural and regional areas with distain.

“This has to stop and I am determined to be take the leadership role that is needed to make sure it doesn’t keep happening,” Mrs Burge said.