PLANS are under way for a new irrigator-led party to challenge the Coalition in Mallee and Farrer at the next federal election.
Southern Riverina Irrigators chair Chris Brooks said water would be top priority for the new party, which was yet to have a name or be registered.
Three seats held by The Nationals — Anne Webster’s Mallee, Michael McCormack’s Riverina and Damian Drum’s Nicholls — would be targeted, as well as Farrer, held by Liberal MP Sussan Ley.
Mr Brooks said the idea for the party came as water advocacy groups in these regions worked on submissions to the Keelty report into the Murray-Darling Basin Plan.
He said there was a shared belief The Nationals were prioritising “larger donors in the north” over family farmers.
“It was blatantly obvious to me and all of those people I was working with that we had the same problems with regard to the lack of federal representation on our regions’ behalves on water,” he said.
Mr Brooks said the party would seek to form a broad coalition of support from farmers, businesses who relied on a strong agriculture sector and unions that represented the likes of packing sheds and processing plants.
He said there had already been an “enormous amount of interest” from possible candidates before the plans were made public last week.
Businesspeople, he said, were willing to provide financial support for the effort.
“They know and recognise the big issue of water is seriously affecting the profitability of their business and they are happy to make an investment to get reliable water supply,” Mr Brooks said.
Several independents unsuccessfully sought to take Mallee and Farrer out of the Coalition’s hands at last year’s election.
A trio of independents garnered 21.5 per cent of first-preference votes in a crowded Mallee field, while Albury-based Kevin Mack picked up about one-fifth of Farrer’s primary vote.
Mr Brooks said he hoped the new party could rally votes behind a single Mallee candidate.
“A lot of those independents took votes off one another,” he said.
“If you can harness all of those people together — the (Jason) Modicas and the (Ray) Kingstons, who got 10 per cent each — if you can collectively utilise the pick of whoever is the best candidate and cover all of the grievances across your wide and diverse electorate, you’re a better chance.”
Mr Brooks said a launch will be held after the party is registered and he hoped candidates could be put in front of voters “as early as possible”.
