However, I must question why it has taken so long for the PM to be made aware of this crisis in our region. How can he not have known what is going on?

Across Farrer, the prosperity of our rural communities is vital.

The late 'water warrior' Terry Hogan - for many years chair of the Riverina and Murray Regional Organisation of Councils - was my mentor when it came to the importance of water, not only to these regional communities and our entire electorate, but for our nation as a whole.

As I travel across Farrer I see first-hand the struggles being faced by country people through the lack of water. Unfortunately, in many parts this is not because there is not enough water, but because there has been poor water policy and management by governments.

We have a Murray-Darling Basin Authority that will not stand up for our region because its charter is to send vast quantities of water to South Australia, regardless of the cost, even those these flows are causing significant environmental damage.

At the same time our farmers have zero or low allocations, so they can't grow food for our nation and other countries throughout the world; nor do they have money to spend in the towns that rely on their income.

The situation is madness and must be fixed. It will be a top priority if I am given the opportunity to serve Farrer in the Federal Parliament. I will be able to work with our local water warriors to achieve common sense solutions.

I won't have to bow to the whims of a party that refuses to take the necessary actions because its marginal city seats are more important than the people I represent.

Some food for thought on both the messages of Easter and the federal election as we consider whom we feel, both individually and collectively deserve to serve us and our nation.

Might we compare the following. Truth is not always necessarily in the majority. Christ stood alone for the truth, His Easter sacrifice evident of it.

Labor is claimed to be ahead in the polls suggesting it has a majority monopoly that confirms it ought be considered to be the only one.

Now let's consider Christ who was put on trial for telling the truth. He was dragged before the maddening crowd, they were too asked to choose. They cried out crucify Him.

The judge sitting at His trial said to them, "but I find no wrong in Him" but the crowd in the majority insisted.

The judge asked them "whom would you have me release Christ or Barabbas (the latter a murderer). The crowd chose the latter and the rest we read in biblical history. When we vote we make considerations, do we run with the crowd mindset, or do we choose to run with the truth of the matter?

Different policies from different parties need to be weighed up carefully lest we find ourselves put to confusion and make a grave error.

With Easter approaching and its message (as a guideline) which do we find the better judgement of the two Christ's truth or the alternative mindset of the majority.

The decision rests with us to get it right as we see it, one way or the other.

May wisdom prevail.

Since 2016 Speak Up has been highlighting unintended consequences of unnatural floodplain inundation, including the proliferation of European carp, often referred to as 'rabbits of the river'. We have written submissions to numerous inquiries and sent letters to ministers about this exact issue, but unfortunately no one wants to take responsibility.

The fact of the matter is that we are exploiting the mid Murray River ecology for the benefit of artificial environments downstream. Environmental water alone is not the enemy, rather it is the priorities which are placed on the running of the Murray.

The Murray River has been running above capacity and flooding adjoining forests, all of which leads to carp proliferation. This is not done to benefit the environment, but instead to meet the demands of boating regattas and luxury housing developments on the Lower Lakes, as well as demand by permanent plantings (predominantly nuts). It should also be noted many of these plantings have not yet reached maturity and therefore their demands on our water supplies are only going to increase.

These are all artificial, and are all downstream of the Murray Valley, and as a consequence the Murray River needs to run above capacity and flood adjoining forests to meet their water needs.

At the same time these huge flows are causing river bank slumping and erosion and destroying native fish habitats, while providing the perfect storm for carp to breed. Why do we keep putting band-aids on the problem? Let's address the root cause before more damage is done!

Or would that require the MDBA to actually acknowledge a negative consequence of the Basin Plan? Because we all know that won't happen.

Letters on election issues must bear the name and full address of the writer(s). Responsibility for election comment in this issue is accepted by The Area News editor Declan Rurenga. Writers should disclose any alliance with political or community organisations and include their phone number for verification. Election candidates should declare themselves as such when submitting letters.