Are voters happy with their lot in a safe Liberal seat or could it be to Wannon electors' advantage to once again make this a swinging seat?

History tells us that the Federal seat of Wannon and the State seat of Dundas were once both swinging seats.

When Malcolm Fraser won Wannon in 1955, the electorate had never been held by any party for longer than one term; it was, in modern parlance, a swinging seat. Fraser, being a tireless worker for Wannon, turned Wannon into a blue ribbon Liberal seat.

The State seats of Dundas and Portland were inclined to swing too! Don McKellar was our local member in Dundas from 1967-1970 and 1973-1985. Bill Lewis, Labor, was the member in the intervening years.

Don McKellar, Bill Lewis and Malcolm Fraser - like all members of Parliament at that time - returned home each Friday to spend the weekend in their electorate.

They and their families were one of us, and they knew and understood the electorates they represented.

Might not the forthcoming Federal election be a good time for voters to at least send a message to the incumbent that a better deal is needed by moving Wannon toward becoming a swinging electorate in 2022?

The voters of Mallee have a chance to make a change.

We are once again being asked to elect someone to represent us in Canberra.

Someone who will speak up and be our voice within Parliament.

For decades Mallee has had no voice.

Despite the Nationals being in government for 44 of the past 73 years they have done little to support the electorate and Mallee remains one of the poorest electorates in Australia.

In the private sector a performance that dire would have seen them fired a long time ago.

This election is the best chance in years for a fresh start, to stop rewarding failure and vote for a better future and an MP whose only focus is the welfare of Mallee.

That candidate is independent Sophie Baldwin. She has a history of fighting for her community, a deft touch as a negotiator and a fierce determination to make things better.

Already endorsed by Cathy McGowan, State MP for Mildura Ali Cupper and the father of the Yarriambiack Silo Art Trail Ray Kingston among others, Sophie Baldwin is our best choice to have a Mallee voice in Canberra.

It will take an unprecedented swing in the polls for the current federal government to survive this coming election. A change of government is the most likely result.

The choice is clear, Mallee can be represented by a backbench opposition National's MP with their 73 year record of failure and policies driven by out of touch NSW focussed men.

Or we can have an Independent MP. Sophie Baldwin will be focused solely on you, her Mallee constituents. She may even have a slice of the balance of power which will bring investment and vigour back to Mallee.

Whilst positive actions, by Governments in the individual Australian states, concerning increasing the use of renewables, and taking action concerning countering climate change in general, are going from strength to strength, the efforts of our Australian Federal Coalition Government, regarding positive actions related to the climate, can only be described as being exceedingly slow and extremely frustrating.

It does appear that as long as Barnaby Joyce remains as Deputy Prime Minister and leader of the Nationals, and the Coalition between the Liberals and the Nationals remains in place, any major moves to replace coal with renewables will be near impossible to implement.

As far as Barnaby Joyce is concerned, coal will remain as the dominant fuel to produce energy in Australia for a very long time.

Any serious moves to considerably downgrade the use of coal by the Liberals will inevitably meet with serious disapproval from Barnaby Joyce and the Nationals.

It is indeed an ultra serious situation when the elected Australian Federal political party, namely our present Federal Coalition Government, cannot, because of its present Partnership structure, take actions, that are glaringly necessary, to counter climate change.

I refer to your article "MP Vote Trend" 7.3.21 written by Alex Blain.

In 2021, Anne Webster MHR voted three times against Bills intended to boost renewables.

Each one of these votes was a vote against investment opportunities in Mallee. Each one was a vote against job opportunities in Mallee. Each one was a vote against increased sustainability in Mallee.

And all three were votes against the necessary actions needed to mitigate climate change in Mallee.

This is exactly what is wrong with party-based and party-ruled politics - and it needs to change.

As your independent MP, I am committed to renewable energy, including investing in rural based hubs to help reduce the cost of living in Mallee.

I will advocate relentlessly for the essential - and long overdue - infrastructure upgrades needed to grow this important job-creating revenue generator.