That is the message to Farrer communities from local member Sussan Ley after she was elected Liberal leader and Leader of the Opposition on Tuesday.
Ms Ley gained four more votes than Angus Taylor to lead the depleted party into the next term of government.
“I know some have said that it will be tough to balance the job of local MP with this party leadership role, but I disagree entirely: ‘tough’ was raising three children on a family farm while pursuing a university degree,” she said.
“Being the leader of our party will never play second fiddle to looking after Farrer.
“It is a huge privilege to be elected as the Leader of the Liberal Party, and I want to acknowledge every one of my colleagues who’ve given me that opportunity.
“While the significance of the election result is not lost on any of us, I approach this new position with enormous optimism.
“I am committed to listen to the message voters have delivered, and commit the Liberal Party to respect, reflect and represent the views and needs of modern Australia.
“Like so many regional areas, we are being completely ignored by Labor - I intend to be a firm, sensible voice arguing the needs of our nation, both city and country.”
Local mayors will be keeping Ms Ley to her word, and say job one for both sides of government is to support calls for increased funding to councils.
The Edward River and Murray River councils have been campaigning for an increase to the Financial Assistance Grants awarded to councils by the Commonwealth, alongside other Riverina and Murray Joint Organisation Councils and Local Government Australia.
The Financial Assistance Grant program consists of two components:
• a general purpose component which is distributed between the states and territories according to population (i.e. on a per capita basis), and
• an identified local road component which is distributed between the states and territories according to fixed historical shares.
Edward River Mayor Ashley Hall said it’s just one way government can start to repair the continual cost shifting on local government.
“The impost on local government is exorbitant, and we need to get these grants back up to one per cent. It’s currently .52 per cent.
“And of course, the other core issues are always health, education and water.
“It may be argued that health and education are state responsibilities, but it’s about how much is given to the states and for it to be distributed in the right ways.
“We’re obviously also in a renewables phase, with four projects in the Edward River region, so we need to see how that rolls out for us in the future, as well as the transmission lines that will be coming through.”
Cr Hall said while he appreciated Ms Ley now has more on her plate, he’s hopeful her position can benefit our region in the long run.
“She will no doubt be busier, but I hope she can still spend a bit of time in the electorate.
“When there are critical issues at play, we hope she will be able to get some advantages for us.
“I think it is a great opportunity for Sussan - especially to be the first female leader.
“It gives our region a bit of credibility, and we hope there can be some wins out of this.
“I wish to congratulate Sussan and I look forward to continuing to work with her.”
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