Farrer is in the spotlight for all but one political party, the party of government.

As moderator the Meet the Candidates forum in Deniliquin, businessman Harold Clapham admonished the sitting Labor Federal Government for failing to field a candidate.

“I congratulate the candidates for putting yourselves forward,” Mr Clapham said.

“The willingness to stand and represent your community is the very essence of our democracy.

“However, the most notable candidate tonight is, in fact, the absent one - that being a representative of the Australian Labor Party...to be absent reflects poorly on their commitment to this community.”

Seven of the 12 candidates took part in the forum, questioned on water, healthcare, renewable energy, funding shortfalls for local councils, and rising costs for agriculture and households, in front of a crowd of more than 200 constituents.

The evening was hosted by the NSW Farmers Association in collaboration with our sister papers, the Deniliquin Pastoral Times and Southern Riverina News.

NSW Farmers executive member Amanda Barlow said it was a respectful and insightful exchange of opinions and ideas.

“We were very happy, and the candidates were all very happy,” Mrs Barlow said.

“It is an open field at the moment, and everyone performed strongly, so it will be interesting to see where the votes land.”

In attendance, in ballot order, were Liberals candidate Raissa Butkowski, Independent Michelle Milthorpe, Jamie Bonnefin from Gerard Rennick People First, The Nationals candidate Brad Robertson, David Farley from One Nation, Lucas Ellis from the Sustainable Australia Party and Independent Gary Pappin.

Unable to attend were Aimee Pearson from the Legalise Cannabis Party, Richard Hendrie from The Greens, Independent Roger Woodward, Rebecca Scriven from Family First and Shooters, Fisher and Farmers candidate Peter Sinclair.

Each candidate was given five minutes to introduce themselves and their main policy platforms, with water, healthcare and affordable housing all highlighted.

Then they took turns answering 10 questions curated by a NSW Farmers panel, based on questions submitted by voters.

On one of the key advocacy areas for the NSW Farmers Association - water policy and support for a Royal Commission into the Murray Darling-Basin Plan - Mrs Barlow said the responses were mixed but mostly positive.

“Most were against buybacks, which was positive for us, but there were mixed views on supporting a Royal Commission, which is one of the NSW Farmers’ policies.

“We certainly take the comments of Brad (Robertson) and Raissa (Butkowski) on board that a Royal Commission might be expensive, stacked by the government of the day and take a long time, but it is one of our policies so that’s not all cut and dry just yet.

“We know that it can be hard to achieve positive change.”

Healthcare

How would you ensure adequate healthcare in cross-border communities?

Independent Gary Pappin was blunt in his view, saying “bugger Victoria, and look after our own state and our own people”.

Sustainable Australia Party candidate Lucas Ellis said there were “two sides to the coin” when it came to healthcare: infrastructure and workforce.

In addition to calling for a “world-class, single-site greenfield hospital”, Mr Ellis emphasised the need to strengthen the region’s healthcare workforce, with more aged care staff and clearer training pathways for GPs to live and work in the area.

One Nation candidate David Farley said the “pursuit of water reform” would help restore regional capacity and productivity, while also pointing to a mismatch in long-term planning between NSW and Victoria.

Mr Farley said there was also a need to learn from states with stronger cross-border co-operation.

Independent Michelle Milthorpe said equitable funding distribution and stronger regional health hubs were key, while also highlighting data gaps in border communities.

Liberal candidate Raissa Butkowski said a formal process was needed to better align planning, funding and delivery between federal and state governments.

She also referenced Coalition commitments to increase GP numbers, expand rural generalist training, and offer incentives including HECS relief, scholarships and salary support.

National Party candidate Brad Robertson said state governments were using borders as an excuse to shift responsibility, arguing stronger federal accountability was needed.

“The only way to deal with that is federal oversight and authority to make them accountable for the money that's given to them by the Federal Government to do health,” he said.

Gerard Rennick’s People First Party candidate Jamie Bonnefin advocated for the removal of duplicated state and federal departments in areas such as health, water and energy to save billions.

He ultimately called for the removal of state governments altogether in favour of a single national system, where federal control of healthcare infrastructure and manufacturing would reduce costs.

What policy levers would you push for to attract and retain GPs?

Ms Milthorpe pointed to bureaucratic barriers and called for a more flexible approach aligned with rural GP networks.

She supported expanding the role of nurse practitioners and improving local infrastructure to support recruitment and retention.

Ms Butkowski highlighted existing NSW health models and the need to explore all available options including salary incentives, tax relief and debt support for health workers.

Mr Robertson pointed to existing Coalition initiatives such as the Murray Darling Medical School and rural generalist pathway.

He argued future efforts should focus on strengthening regional development so that communities could remain attractive places for health professionals to live and work.

Mr Bonnefin proposed reintroducing the military apprenticeship scheme to fast-track the training of health professionals, allowing for quicker deployment of workers into communities where shortages were prominent.

Mr Pappin focused on housing, planning and infrastructure approvals, saying delays in development processes were limiting regional growth and discouraging medical staff from relocating.

He called for changes to local planning systems and increased federal support to make regional towns more attractive and sustainable for healthcare workers.

Mr Ellis suggested expanding healthcare training pathways by targeting unemployed and underemployed Australians, alongside reduced education costs for regional students entering health fields.

Mr Farley said workforce shortages could not be separated from broader regional development, arguing that sustainable healthcare depended on investment in housing, infrastructure and long-term regional planning.

Water buybacks

Six of the seven candidates said they support an immediate stop of water buybacks by the Commonwealth Government.

Michelle Milthorpe (Independent) said she had been really clear for the last two years that she can see that water buybacks are devastating regional communities.

“We know with the Murray-Darling Basin review happening at the moment that we need to look at the submissions that have come in, and make sure that those are being heard in November,” she said.

“We have the environment and people being played off against one another. It's the people that are missing out. We need to ensure that we're reducing that.”

Raissa Butkowski (Liberal Party of Australia) said her position was no more water buybacks.

“My position is the coalition's commission of inquiry into the Commonwealth Environmental Water Holder,” she said.

“It was unanimously voted down by the Labor and Greens. We need to be fighting hard because that inquiry is the only method by which our communities are going to get the transparency and insight they need now.”

Brad Robertson (The Nationals) said “We need to re-establish the 1500 gigalitre cap that we put in place to protect industry from more buybacks, which the Labor Party and Greens reintroduced by removing and the buybacks that are killing all of us in all our communities”.

Jamie Bonnefin (Gerrard Rennick’s People First Party) said his party did not support water buybacks, but that the conversation needed to change.

“We need to start talking about when are we going to get our water back,” he said.

“And here's how we're going to do it; we're going to create an infrastructure bank so we can build another Snowy Hydro three, but up on the Clarence River...(to) redirect that water down through the Darling and we're also going to remove the barrages in Lake Alexandrina, and then we're going to increase the height of our dams.”

Gary Pappin (Independent) said the conversation needs to change from the fact of water buybacks because it's almost reached its end of tenure.

“What concerns me the most is, what are they going to come after next? I think they're going to come after more water after this buyback scheme finishes.”

Lucas Ellis (Sustainable Australia Party) admitted that to the disappointment of probably many people, he did not support an end to voluntary buybacks.

“We want to stress that the process is voluntary for farmers who want to sell,” he said.

“We support a holistic approach that balances environmental flows, prioritising irrigation, food security and local community uses over export related uses; and we 100 per cent support a Royal Commission into the Murray-Darling Basin Plan.

David Farley (One Nation) said water buybacks were a sign of a nation that's given up on its future.

“We're totally against water buybacks. We don't want an extractive model. We want an investment model, to invest in more capacity for water,” he said.

“If we're a modern Western nation, we need to bring ourselves up to a contemporary, modern position, and agriculture is part of the sovereignty of the nation.

“A nation that can't feed itself, and is reliant on imports, is a nation that's losing control of its own destiny.”

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Sunday, 24th March 2030

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