Sussan Ley has been the Liberal Member for Farrer since 2001, but she says she's only been "Member for Griffith" for the last three years.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
Since moving her office to Griffith three years ago, she says she's come to know the city, its people, and the issues that matter to them.
"I think the people of Griffith are getting to know me, and I've spent a lot of time listening and learning from them," Ms Ley said.
She's had a comfortable 18 years in office, but she says she won't be taking this year's election lightly.
"I don't take any election for granted, and there's a very simple reason for that," Ms Ley said.
"In my very first election I won by 206 votes, so for me every vote counts."
Since then Farrer has become a safe Liberal seat under her leadership, and she's won most of her elections with comfortable margins.
But she said this year's swing away from the Coalition at the state level was a "wakeup call on water", and a clear sign that the Murray Darling Basin Plan needed to be reviewed.
She said change was necessary, but that a protest vote for an independent candidate was "not the answer" to Farrer's water woes.
"Any vote for an independent brings the chance of a Bill Shorten prime ministership closer," Ms Ley said.
"A vote for an independent is, in my view, not the answer in this election."
She claimed a Labor government would be "anathema" to the region and would mean more water buybacks for a region already suffering from years of zero allocations.
She also warned Farrer could lose out big time if the basin plan were to be scrapped or subjected to another royal commission.
Instead, Ms Ley said she would be advocating for an independent panel into the basin plan, its economic impacts on basin communities, and the current water trading regulations.
Other election priorities for Ms Ley include attracting more doctors into the regions, getting more funding for hospitals, and opposing Labor's tax hikes on superannuations and trusts.
***
While you're with us, did you know that you can now receive updates straight to your inbox every Monday at 6am from The Area News? To make sure you're up to date with all the Griffith and MIA news you can sign up here.
Kenji Sato
Kenji Sato is a handsome journalist at The Daily Advertiser who enjoys writing flattering bios about himself in the third person. He can be contacted by email at kenji.sato@dailyadvertiser.com.au or by mobile on 0448 927 612.
Kenji Sato is a handsome journalist at The Daily Advertiser who enjoys writing flattering bios about himself in the third person. He can be contacted by email at kenji.sato@dailyadvertiser.com.au or by mobile on 0448 927 612.
