MILDURA’S contentious nine-ward electoral restructure has prompted Underbool’s Greg Brown to have another tilt at local government.
The dryland farmer this week said that while he wasn’t a fan of the new ward system, compared to the previous unsubdivided electorate, he wanted to ensure the southern portion of the electorate was adequately represented following the October council elections.
First elected to Mildura Council in 1997 following the amalgamation of the former City of Mildura, Shire of Mildura and Shire of Walpeup, Mr Brown served a further three terms in local government before he chose not to contest the 2020 election.
Mr Brown served from 1997 to 2000 and again from 2003 to 2005, before he failed in his bid to win a seat on council at the following two local government elections.
He then returned to local government in 2012 when he was sixth elected from 14 candidates and retained his seat at the council table in 2016 when he was fifth elected from 28 candidates.
Mr Brown has enjoyed strong voter support along the Mallee Track and said the vast Sunset Country Ward, stretching 17,252 square kilometres from Koorlong in the north to Tempy and across to the South Australian border, would suit his knowledge of that region and the issues facing people on the land.
Sunset Country Ward has 4706 eligible voters and Mr Brown said the long-standing issues of the three R’s – rates, roads and rubbish – still resonated with those landowners.
He said the amount of rates paid by the farming community, over and above city counterparts, was “a hell of an issue”.
“Farmers don’t mind paying their fair share, but farmland is being treated like a revenue-raising money pool,” he said.
“The land is being treated as a taxable asset – a wealth tax – when I think there could be a fairer distribution across the board.”
Mr Brown said his rates had risen by about one third over the past 12 months and farmers were paying “far too much” for the services available to them.
He said a more equitable differential rate system would more evenly distribute the rates burden across the entire municipality.
Mr Brown said that while council staff did a good job grading gravel roads when conditions suited, there were opportunities to lay bitumen on more roads in the southern part of the municipality.
However, the local government veteran said that while he held the concerns of farming families close to his heart, he was not ignorant of the need for more city-based areas continuing to thrive.
“I am a big believer that the faster and better that Mildura grows, the better off we all are in the bush,” he said.
Mr Brown said he was undaunted by the huge area that the Sunset Country Ward representative will need to cover.
“I don’t mind a drive and I guess I’m pretty used to that by now,” he said.
Nominations for this year’s local council elections open on September 9 and close on September 17 with the ballot draw to take place the following day.
Ballot packs will be distributed to eligible residents over four days from October 7 with close of voting on October 25.
