IRYMPLE resident and Lower Murray Medicare Local chief executive Lydia Senior has won pre-selection as the Australian Labor Party candidate for Mallee in this year's federal election.
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Ms Senior said she was excited about the prospect of improved representation for the Mallee electorate.
"It is well and truly time for change in the Mallee, with the Nationals having held office for more than 60 years and the same person representing our community for more than 20 years," she said.
"During the past couple of years I have been listening to the mood of the community.
''People have been expressing considerable dissatisfaction with the lack of leadership across a whole range of issues and the time has come for a fresh start.
"Our region needs to become a marginal seat in order to attract more funding."
Ms Senior said she believed that safe seats such as Mallee tended to 'get the scraps', both at election time and in major government funding rounds for money that should come to the Mallee.
She said the National Broadband Network and the National Disability Insurance Scheme were among programs that she would prioritise for the area.
"The fact is that those contracts were awarded to the most marginal seats and to those with the strongest voice," she said.
"We could have walked on water but there is no way we would have got the funding."
Ms Senior said she would formally launch her campaign 'Make Mallee Marginal' in the coming weeks.
"It is with the big picture in mind that I now challenge the status quo and ask the community to think long and hard about what they want for themselves and their children moving forward," she said.
Nationals Member for Mallee John Forrest is stepping down at the federal election in September after 20 years in the seat. He announced his decision at the Wimmera Machinery Field Days on Wednesday.