AS a single mum, I know what it is like to feel the pressure of paying the bills and putting fuel in the car.
Australia’s story for us all is not a great one. Politics is about the party and its donors and certainly not the people.
I have always been passionate about my community and staple food production. My dad was a dairy farmer and I am proud to have been one as well.
I believe in the agricultural industry that established Australia and underpins the success of Mallee.
In my career, I have proudly represented 1800 generational farming families, producing $6 billion in irrigated, staple food production, and we couldn’t even get the water minister to respond to a letter.
Think about that for a second.
As a rural journalist, time and time again I hear a passion for our great country, our land, our environment and the community.
We are poised on the murky precipice of party politics, where the true rulers are powerful donors ruining our country.
I know it’s ruining water.
We have a Federal Government that talks about building the economy, yet still treats provision of early learning and childcare as optional babysitting.
We have a highly skilled workforce – good luck if you can find day care so you can return to work.
There is not enough social housing or any housing – domestic violence survivors are living in caravan parks.
The city-based model does not fit in the country. Just look at the Mallee shires, funded on population stretched across 84,000km.
People are struggling to access basic services. How can we run a business, educate or attract people if we can’t make a phone call or use the internet?
Where is the investment in nation-building infrastructure like road, rail, renewables and bridges?
Imagine a passenger and freight line to connect Mallee, capable of hauling some of the predicted $100 billion in agricultural product by 2030.
Mallee communities are resourceful – they just need an independent voice willing to listen and act.
Sophie Baldwin,
independent candidate
