I would like to return water to irrigation farmers.

A lower dollar would increase the value of export income. 

Country areas (should) have satellite NBN.

To reassure farmers and their families Mature Australia Party will agitate for pensions to be at least 75 per cent of the basic wage. 

The Greens will protect farmers and vital food production from the threat of coal and coal seam gas exploration. The NSW Government is currently seeking Chinese investment in the Oaklands Basin here in Farrer! The Greens have always stood up for farmers’ rights to lock the gate to multinational mining corporations, and we strongly oppose increasing the amount of water that can be extracted by mining and gas projects from inland groundwater systems.

There is, of course, no future for agriculture in Farrer without water. I am devastated by the dry sandy bed of the Darling River, and we must ensure the sustainability of the Murray and Murrumbidgee so that our communities and farmers will always be able to access our most valuable resource.

People across our electorate have voiced their frustration with the Murray Darling Basin Plan (MDBP). We must collaborate to sustain our river systems, but the MDBP in its current form simply hasn’t worked. The Greens commit to restoring the National Water Commission as an independent authority, with an audit of the MDBP as its top priority, in genuine consultation and collaboration with our farmers who are experts on the ground.

The MDBP should value farming practices with environmental or social benefits as well as the water consumption bottom-line, such as disease protection, lower pesticide use or the preservation of biodiversity.  

The Greens will fully restore funding to the CSIRO, including their Griffith laboratory, to continue vital research into more efficient farming practices and technology.

The Greens also oppose the backpacker tax so that farmers can access the seasonal labour that they need.

Finally, we must have modern telecommunications infrastructure across Farrer (the full-speed, FTTP (fibre to the premises) NBN, not the Liberals' rushed and already outdated version), to fully include our rural communities and farmers in the national conversation and economy, and to enable the use of 21st century technology.

On July 2 the Murrumbidgee Irrigation Area joins the NSW Murray and Lower Darling River systems in Farrer, truly making this electorate the home of Australia’s irrigated agriculture. We know that in 2012-13 irrigation contributed to 28 per cent of Australia's agricultural production, adding $13.4 billion in gross value to our national bottom line.

Of this, we also know that $7.1 billion was from the Murray–Darling Basin.

The Murray Darling Basin Plan is the single biggest issue facing our region and I am working hard to make sure that our massive investment in irrigated agriculture leads to the prosperity our region deserves. 

Our communities need to have their voices heard and they need to be understood. This includes an understanding of the cumulative effects of so much productive water being removed from the vital infrastructure of our farming operations.

As I have often said, the basin plan has driven a massive social change within our communities and every step that governments and the (basin) authority (MDBA) take must take this into consideration. Local solutions work; policies and programs driven from Canberra rarely do. This is one of the reasons why I am calling for our local LLS, landcare groups and farmers’ groups to be part of real consultation about any environmental watering strategy.

I had Phillip Glyde (MDBA chief executive) come and visit the Murray region during his second week in the job. I am reassured that for the first time the CEO of the MDBA is acknowledging the need for cultural change. It’s also the first time I’ve heard the CEO of the MDBA admit that the basin plan has resulted in pain for our communities.

I have encouraged the MDBA to engage with some of our locally-based groups in their implementation and monitoring of the Plan, including our local LLS. No one knows the creeks and rivers as well as the locals. No amount of consultants hired by the MDBA will be able to out-do existing local knowledge.

I will ensure that material produced by the MDBA is reflective of what we see here on the ground, and make sure that my colleagues around the cabinet table are fully aware of the vital importance of irrigated agriculture as a driver of jobs and growth.

I am also pushing for a full audit of the effectiveness of the environmental watering plan, not just for our farmers but for taxpayers who have invested heavily in outcomes and have every right to know whether environmental targets are being met.

There are adjustments that we know can be made to provide further flexibility for the CEWH (Commonwealth Environmental Water Holder) when it comes to water trading, particularly when general security allocations are as low as they have been this season.

The Coalition Government’s in-full or in-part acceptance of the 23 recommended changes to the Water Act were an important start on the process of making the necessary adjustments to the basin plan. That said, I acknowledge that this is just a start and that more needs to be done, particularly with enabling more water to be traded more easily between the environment and productive agriculture. This is something that is already under active consideration.

The Water Act Amendment Bill also legislates the requirement for five yearly reviews into the social and economic impacts of the basin plan from 2020, which will likely be a continuation of the evaluation already scheduled for completion next year.

These reviews were one of those recommendations made as part of the independent inquiry into the Water Act and the government has committed to further work with industry as a means of identifying ways to improve both the transparency of the water market, and the quality and availability of information available for water users.

I have been encouraged by non-flow projects (eg carp) being able to be considered as part of the SDL (sustainable diversion limit) offsets. The more we can recognise and incorporate measures of catchment health that are not flow related, the better.

Ultimately it is irrigators and basin communities who notice the changes to water availability and any changes to the health of the environment. I’d prefer that feedback to come directly from local community groups rather than through consultants that the MDBA has sent in. I have already made that call to Phillip Glyde, and Neil Andrew (MDBA chair) and I know that I am supported by the Deputy Prime Minister.

Last week the Australian Government announced almost $85 million in funding for works to deliver water infrastructure upgrades across the Murrumbidgee Irrigation network, increasing efficiency and delivering productivity benefits for irrigators.

Effective water infrastructure is vital for our nation’s continued growth and prosperity and farmers across the network will benefit from increased crop production thanks to more efficient and controllable water delivery.

This project will also generate almost 10 gigalitres in water savings that will be used to deliver environmental benefits for a healthy basin system, and – most importantly - these savings will come solely from conveyance entitlements no longer required to cover network losses, without impacting the water entitlements of irrigators using the network.

I will be calling for more work done to better assess where the tipping point is in our irrigation districts and what volume of water is required to maintain the viability of an individual system, and I will not be satisfied until and unless the communities I represent feel confident about the processes being undertaken by the governments and the authority and can live with the outcomes of those processes.

From water infrastructure, to transport infrastructure and digital infrastructure and the Coalition Government is building the foundations that support a productive and profitable agriculture sector, and a strong national economy.

As the economy transitions and diversifies, agricultural exports are playing a more important role than ever in our nation’s prosperity and rural exports have now become our second-largest export after iron ore.

As I travel throughout Farrer I am encouraged by innovation in wine and table grape technology, in the cultivation of a wide variety of crops, nuts and citrus and also the increase in agribusiness investment and value add through centralised distribution, bottling and packaging.

The second round of the Australian Government’s Murray Darling Basin Regional Economic Diversification Programme aims to support local businesses and communities impacted by the implementation of the Murray Darling Basin Plan and I am delighted that more than $4.2 million in funding has been provided for our area, supporting local economic development and diversification initiatives and is expected to lead to the creation of almost 300 local jobs.

I have been pleased to visit with local businesses at Hanwood, Coleambally and Leeton who have each been successful in receiving this funding and have been highly impressed by the wide range of value-add and scope for expansion of each local business.

Backpackers are also a critical, valuable and reliable labour source for our region and the working holiday maker program is a vital support to many industries and large and small businesses across rural Australia. I am aware of the concerns from my electorate relating to the proposed changes to the taxation of working holiday makers and have made my colleagues, including the Treasurer, well aware of these issues.

I remain optimistic that there will be a change in policy as a result of the review announced by the Assistant Treasurer. But in the meantime, the commencement of the previously announced changes has been deferred for six months from July 1 pending the outcome of the review, which will also look at issues of labour supply more broadly in the agriculture sector and is due to report by mid-October.

Our region is becoming more and more reliant on digital technologies – for business, for education, for science and for safety. Under the Coalition Government’s mobile blackspot program more mobile blackspots will receive improved coverage as part of an additional $60 million commitment. This $60 million, on top of the $160 million already invested in mobile black spots, brings the Coalition’s total investment to $220 million nationally.

Although diverse, what we have across our ‘Farrer’ region is a collective of vibrant, innovative communities which have not been afraid to ‘look outside the square’ when it comes to finding the best way forward through challenging times. As the local member, the issues of concern to me have always been the ones which concern the people and affect the communities which I represent.

Whilst there will always be work to be done, our regions - the Murray and the Murrumbidgee Riverina - should be proud of the work already done and their collective contribution to our nation’s economy and our national food bowl.

I would be proud to represent the Murrumbidgee region and to work alongside agricultural producers and stakeholder groups to ensure that your local vision is brought to our federal parliament.

After three years of research the best way to help farmers in Farrer is to have a minor party in power.

In a book which I sent to Sussan Ley I asked to debate 25 questions. One was that if Australia’s debt is down to say $38 billion by 2020 how could Australia produce more than 100 times the capability of China in 2021 in order to balance the budget?

Another unanswered debate challenge is to ask the Minster for Health why orange juice concentrate is allowed to be imported. This has reduced valencia orange production from 400,000 tonnes per year in 1970 to less than 200,000 tonnes per year now and heading lower. Sussan Ley’s office asked Fiona Nash to respond to me. Fiona has still not answered my response to her letter on June 22, 2014 when she wrote:

“The assertions and inferences in your correspondence  that officers of FSANZ and APVMA have acted improperly or corruptly are extremely serious.”

I agreed that they are serious so I wrote: “bring it on”. 

My whole policy is about supporting farmers and their communities.

Only when our farmers have access to water, power, fuel, fertiliser and transport at world competitive prices can they be productive and prosperous.

My plan will deliver this at no cost to treasury.

A win for all.

The plan to support farmers and their communities is a simple three step process:-

By not supporting major party politics in Farrer the CDP can affect change and improvement to raise Farrer, the food bowl of Australia above party politics improving its health, wealth and well being.  

Only then can our electorate of Farrer can have effective and productive representation supporting farmers and their communities.      

The Christian Democratic Party Statement of Belief can be found here. It states:  

“We believe that the Biblical principles concerning economics should be consistently upheld and respected by civil government, including honest weights and measures and avoidance of currency debasement. We further uphold the principle of responsible free enterprise, meaning maximum freedom to develop one’s talents matched with responsibility before God in dealing with our fellow man.”