IT was US President Kennedy that said voters should think about what is good for their country rather than the selfish option of asking “what’s in it for me”.
I don’t know if my fellow Aussies are that way inclined at present, so I set my thought processes to look harder at what is being offered to voters ahead of the coming election.
It would not be reasonable, rational or acceptable for me to give an opinion on what is being offered or promised to sway voters’ intentions, but I did notice there hasn’t been much on the table for rural producers or regional dwellers.
Being a city boy from the middle harbour of Sydney, I went bush as soon as my education was completed, a decision I have appreciated ever since.
Even though I have been lucky enough to spend a lot of time abroad, and work with financial and investor clients in some nine other countries, I have always loved rural and regional Australia.
As I have a keen interest in affairs outside the major cities, it was with great interest that I read on 10 April of National Party (formerly the Country Party) plans to establish a Regional Australia Future Fund, “to deliver a guaranteed annual funding stream in perpetuity for regional, rural and remote Australia”.
Should they be elected to government they propose the fund would distribute funding towards infrastructure and community development in regional areas by a competitive tender system.
This fund would need a capital structure to which future governments would need to contribute, in order that a ready supply of funding was available each year to improve the lives and amenities available to non-urban and regional residents.
Now we know what is being offered to regional residents by one of the major political players, I’m really interested to hear all the other offers that might make the quality of life for non-urban residents even better, before we go to the polls on 3 May.
By John BLACKBOURN
