PETER Walsh is vying for a sixth term in Parliament, but says there is still “more work to be done”.
The 68-year-old Nationals leader and Murray Plains incumbent has been an Opposition member for all bar four years (2010-14) in the seat.
“In regional Victoria, the challenge is even more demanding,” he said.
“We are one of the country’s most important food and fibre production locations and large slices of that land have just gone under water.
“That recovery will be long and hard so it will be the promise of The Nationals to do everything we can – in government or opposition – to help that fightback.”
Murray Plains spans from Nyah in the north, Boort in the south, to Kyabram in the east and communities along the Victorian side of the border.
Mr Walsh said a full redevelopment of the Swan Hill hospital was high on his agenda, so too a new bridge spanning the Murray and more housing options.
“It’s not just a bricks and mortar solution, it’s about getting the additional health workforce to ease the burden of the dedicated frontline troops who have carried the load for too long,” he said.
“Being part of the government and party that got the new bridge for Echuca, I want to make sure Swan Hill is the next new bridge over the Murray.
“And I will be able to call on my time in Parliament, and my now extensive network of contacts, to make sure those jobs get done.
“Housing must be very high on anyone’s agenda – and that means houses to buy, houses to rent and social housing.
“I agree, land rezoning will play a big part, but it is not an issue in isolation, it is part of a total approach to fixing Victoria’s problems – and that means the health crisis, cost of living and roads.”
If re-elected to the “very safe” Nationals seat, Mr Walsh will become one of the longest-serving MPs in the 60th Parliament of Victoria.
“The alarm clock is the unsung hero of life as a regional member of parliament,” he said. “And when I am awake, one of the things I have most enjoyed during my time in the Victorian Parliament has been the ability to help small people, usually with small problems in the big scheme of things but which for them, individually and as a family, has been too big to handle, possibly overwhelming or intimidating.
“But by contacting my office we have been able to steer most of these cases to a successful (and quick) resolution.
“Such as a senior citizen who had sold their house and bought into a retirement village in the Adelaide Hills. Between signing contracts and settlement, SA closed its borders to all traffic and this woman could have been homeless.
“But we went straight to the SA Premier and obtained approval for her to cross into that state. Even then the bureaucracy stepped in demanding proof whoever drove her to Adelaide would not try and remain in the state illegally – it got to the point I would have driven her myself, if necessary, but fortunately it all got resolved.”
Mr Walsh said there was “something special” about the big-ticket items, such as working with the Swan Hill Needs a New Hospital committee to get the funding for stage 1.
Others included the redevelopment of the Swan Hill Racecourse Bowls Club, including the new pavilion, the lights at the Swan Hill and Nyah ovals and various stages of redeveloping the Swan Hill Specialist School.
Asked why he thought the electorate supported The Nationals so heavily, Mr Walsh said the support had been “for the member rather than the party”.
The Nationals received 74 per cent of the two-party preferred vote at the 2018 election.
“People like to know they have an MP where they can drop into the office and have a chat, ask a few questions, or get some help with a problem,” Mr Walsh said.
Mr Walsh said no seat was safe when asked if the electorate needed to move away from the major parties to become marginal.
“When I was first elected, the result went down to preferences and it is through my hard work and my commitment to service that you turn that seat (to) an increased majority,” he said.
“People don’t vote for members who don’t work hard for their electorate.
“But as for safe seats, well I have seen seats with big majorities change hands – there are so many things that will trigger voters as they stand in the polling booth, pencil in hand and voting papers in front of them.
“For example, if they had turned to their MP for help and been rebuffed, or ignored, that will be all it takes to cost you a vote.
“If, for any reason, there is a major swing against either the leftist politics of the government we have, or the perception of the Opposition being conservative, for example, that can move votes and there is very little you can do to stop that.”
Signs of teal, red or green had not made any inroads in the Murray Plains electorate, claimed Mr Walsh.
“Victorians wanting a change of direction are smart enough to know they need to elect people in parties which can actually form governments rather than barrack from the sidelines,” he said.
Mr Walsh will be 72 at the 2026 election, and asked whether this would be his final term, Mr Walsh said it would “seem a little premature” before he had even been returned by his electorate.
“If I am to once again be given its trust, I have four more years of hard work ahead and at that point, as many politicians do, I will consider my future,” he said.
“Our figures say this fight is far from over – most interestingly, there remains a significant number of undecided voters.”
