Mr Polkinghorne walked 303km from Barham to Hume Dam in November 2020 to draw attention to the Murray-Darling Basin Plan, and the impacts it is having on southern basin communities socially, economically and environmentally.
The 18-day walk drew media attention from across the country as he stopped in the small country towns along the way, speaking to farmers, business owners and community members.
Mr Polkinghorne is a well known water advocate and was nominated for the award because of the walk.
He is a mixed cropping and livestock farmer and owns the Barham Bridge, one of the few independent newspapers left in the country.
He is also vice-chair of Speak up Campaign.
Mr Polkinghorne humbly accepted the award, which was presented in “recognition and appreciation for his outstanding contribution to the community”.
“This is such a great honour and I thank the community for thinking of me,” he said.
“Our local communities and the environment have been hit pretty hard by the implementation of the basin plan and I will continue to draw attention to the issue.”
Independent NSW Member for Murray Helen Dalton said this award is “quite an honour”.
“I have only ever given out a handful of these awards over the last few years, so this is a pretty big deal.
“Lloyd is such a great advocate for community, agriculture and water, and is very deserving of this award and I am sure he will keep up the hard work.”
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