In the lead-up to the federal election on May 3, McPherson Media Group is featuring profiles of some of the candidates running for the seat of Nicholls.

Candidates have been asked why they’re running, what some of the issues faced by the electorate are, and what they’ll advocate for if elected.

Federal Member for Nicholls Sam Birrell is seeking a second term in office.

With a career across the agricultural sector, Mr Birrell is proud to call himself a Goulburn Valley local.

He described himself as a lover of regional Australia, of living in the Goulburn Valley, and of music and sport.

Mr Birrell said he had clear priorities if he was re-elected in May.

“That is to focus on infrastructure spending in regional areas. I’ve made commitments to this region. The two most significant ones are $20 million for the Shepparton Sports Stadium and $6.3 million to Kirwans Bridge,” he said.

“We’ll be simplifying industrial relations to make sure that small and medium enterprise businesses can be competitive.

“We’ll have a more sensible approach to energy policy that will focus on reducing our emissions over time, but making sure that Australia has energy prices both for gas and electricity that keep us world competitive.”

What food packing businesses were telling him, Mr Birrell said, was that farmers in the region needed reliable access to water to keep their supply up.

“So we’ll be reversing some of the more damaging parts of the Restore our Rivers Bill, and making sure there’s no more open tender water buybacks,” he said.

He will finance his vision for Nicholls with the Coalition’s proposed $20 billion Regional Future Fund.

“The Nationals will use that ... and invest the dividends to make sure we’ve got a bucket of money that we can work with the community to work out what the major priorities are and use that funding for that,” he said.

Mr Birrell said he was proud of his achievements in office, including in his community involvement and, even if it was ultimately unsuccessful, his opposition to the Restoring Our Rivers bill.

“When it’s a Coalition government, with the Nationals pushing hard, the regions get more,” he said.

“You do need someone pushing really hard for the interests of regional Australia. And that’s the Nationals.”

To stay up to date on election day, check in on the Courier website as McPherson Media Group will be running a live blog on May 3 featuring content from polling booths across Nicholls as well as live poll updates.

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