Farley pushes for Farrer revival

And he said with his party’s support, he hopes to start pushing for change straight away.

“Our productivity in Farrer principally comes from the land – it's our cropping regimes, it's our cattle, our grazing, etcetera, and our capacity is what I call the value adding, the agribusiness side of it.

“That's everything from our rice mills to our cotton gins to our wineries, our flour mills, our dairies, etcetera.

“What underwrites all of that, and what underwrites our communities as well, is water.

“So, the first step to try and achieve anything to bring back productivity and capacity is to be able to bring back water, or to create more water through more storages.”

Mr Farley said an adjacent issue is energy.

“That's both liquid energies – in other words, liquid energy for running our cars and our tractors – and electrical baseload energy.

“I do not want to be representing an agricultural powerhouse where the farmers are planting crops, worrying about will I have fuel to harvest this crop?

“We’ve got to work hand over fist to make sure that we can start securing fuel in Farrer, at least to our capacity. If that model works, then it'll work in other electorates as well.

“Base load energy is also important to Farrer, and we need to get it right.

“Yes, Farrer has got a lot of solar farms over it, and a lot of proposed wind farms. My concern there is, especially across irrigated country, that's taking away productivity base.

“In the case of Murray Irrigation Limited and Murrumbidgee Irrigation Area, they then have less acres to service, therefore the cost of maintaining those canals and drains rises.

“We need these natural resources of water working for us, whether it's water generating electricity or water growing crops, and value adding to capacity, which is agribusiness and community.”

Mr Farley said getting immigration policy is equally important for agriculture and rural communities, and says this is where his views differ slightly from his party’s.

“You might have picked up through the campaign that I was at odds every now and then with the party itself, but the reality is that when you look at Farrer we're probably the biggest users of migrant labour in Australia than any other electorate.

“So I was determined to defend the position and the access to good migrant labour that was there.

“One Nation's saying let's get 130,000 new migrants in, and I’m saying that's fine, but I want the majority of them (in Farrer).

“Without migrants, our red meat and white meat processing industry stops. Without migrants, our aged care stops, and a large portion of our health care will stop.

“My position is that I'll be defending every industry we need to make sure that we don't disrupt our industries with the immigration models that are being proposed.

“I could speak differently at a national level, but I'm not. I am the representative of Farrer now, and I've got one job to do – look after the constituents of Farrer.

“I'm quite convinced that if I do my job right in Farrer, the overflow effects of that will be good for the nation.”

Beyond agriculture, Farley highlights significant gaps in regional healthcare.

While the issues in Albury have drawn attention, he notes the challenges extend across the electorate and needs immediate attention by both the Federal and NSW governments.

Mr Farley said the first few weeks since the election have been rather busy, and he expects the next two years to be fast-paced.

He said this may impact on his role as president with the Speak Up 4 Water Campaign.

At an upcoming meeting, he will be suggesting to the board that he step down from the role.

But Mr Farley did specify that this move must be approved by the Speak Up committee before it can be enacted.

In terms of his local presence, Mr Farley said he’s already submitted a request for a Deniliquin office.

He has requested permission to take over the office previously fitted out for former senator Perin Davey, which is still under government control but “sitting there unused”.

But as Mr Farley has already committed to taking over office leases from his predecessor Sussan Ley in Albury and Griffith, and said permission for a third office may not be granted.