Forgive the pun, but water is such a fluid issue. It’s the lifeblood of our agriculture industry, and we’ve been through both a crippling drought and abundant rain during my time in politics. One thing that remains a constant however is our region’s need for water.

The availability and use of water is a thoroughly complex topic, but I’ve done my best to understand it with the help of some reliable stakeholders throughout the electorate. There were major wins for irrigators with the Government finally agreeing to impose a moratorium on new extraction licenses below the Barmah Choke, and significant concessions on the inter-valley trade rules to maximise protection for our farmers.

I’ve joined a chorus of people calling out the farcical floodplain harvesting rules in NSW, which have done nothing more than devastate communities downstream including ours. I’ve participated in senate enquiries and called out over-extraction. The vast majority of water license holders in my electorate are doing the right thing, and it’s my job to protect their water rights.

I’ll also be ramping up pressure on the lack of potable water supplies across the electorate. It’s a significant and glaring health issue, impacting thousands of people often despite their proximity to rural townships. It needs to be addressed urgently.