A stronger voice is needed for rural and regional Australia to ensure it gets the representation it deserves, according to senate candidate Chris Buckman.
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Mr Buckman, who represents the CountryMinded Party, was in Dubbo on Monday to talk to voters and spread his message.
The CountryMinded party formed 18 months ago and Mr Buckman said everybody involved with the party was committed to strong country representation.
He said with 85 per cent of Australia’s wealth generated in regional Australia, it was important that those areas were properly represented and not forced to fit in with parties and policies that were aimed at metropolitan voters.
“Rural Australia needs a voice and we want to give that voice. We think we are a genuine third alternative to what is on offer in a NSW senate context,” he said.
“We are different because we have taken an approach that says we will work on a bipartisan manner on projects. If it is good for rural and regional Australia, we will work with anyone.”
CountryMinded candidate for New England David Mailler said the party wasn’t a flash in the pan that would be gone by the next election if it wasn’t voted in.
He said a seat in the House of Representatives or the Senate would be a welcome at this election, but the party was built to become a long-term option.
“The analogy we are using is that it’s hard to get the train moving but once you get the wheels moving, you’re never going to stop it,” Mr Mailler said.
“The party started after a conversation between a couple of like-minded people, who were disenchanted with what we saw with regional representation.
“One of the principles we founded on was, 85 per cent of Australia’s wealth comes from regional areas but we don’t get a dividend on that. We want to change that to create stable rural and regional communities.”
