COVERING most of the Eyre Peninsula, the major towns in the electorate are Port Lincoln and Ceduna and the electorate covers some of SA's main grain growing districts. The electorate extends west of Ceduna along the coast as far as the border with WA. As part of a boundary shift, Flinders will gain Cowell, Kimba and the Maralinga Tjarutja region from the Giles electorate, potentially causing the Liberal margin to slip slightly from 26.3 per cent to a still imposing 26.1pc.
Candidates in the upcoming election are Liberal Sam Telfer, Labor's Sarah Tynan, The Greens' Kathryn Hardwick-Franco, Independent Liz Habermann, The Nationals' Lillian Poynter and Family First's Tracey Dalton.
What do you believe is the biggest challenge facing Flinders?
TELFER: In Flinders we need to ensure appropriate delivery of the essential aspects of community, such as health services, education, and transport and infrastructure needs.
If those arrangements are appropriate for our local needs, then we can help enable the sustainability of our different communities and support the workforce that is essential for our primary production businesses and regional communities.
HABERMANN: It has always been a safe Liberal seat and forgotten by the Liberal party. My challenge is to win the seat and use the bargaining power that an Independent has with either party in government.
I believe the people of EP can put themselves on the map by having an Independent who is accountable to the community and not a political party.
POYNTER: Health is a big issue, with doctor shortages, specialist shortages and the commute to the city for appointments, with extended wait times to see any specialist in any field. Roads that our farmers use every single day to transport large farm machinery and stock are deteriorating because the government thought it was a good idea to cease the rail system. We need to bring back the rail to relieve the pressure on our roads and make it safer for road users.
DALTON: By far, it is family breakdown, mental health, suicide, and drug use. It is affecting almost every family in some way.
What do you see as the major issue affecting SA agriculture? How would you rectify this?
TELFER: We have innovative and hardworking agricultural businesses on the Eyre Peninsula, which government can help enable through strategic infrastructure investment.
Distance to market is a challenge which we face, but there are opportunities for new port facilities and processing of products locally that I am keen to pursue which will add value and diversity to our peninsula.
HABERMANN: Regulations of how they use the land and how they get their product to market. As an elected member I would move a motion to review the regulations implemented by the native vegetation legislation. I will continue the push to upgrade existing government-owned railway and get the grain trucks off the road, particularly at Port Lincoln.
POYNTER: As a small business owner, I'm acutely aware of the impact rising interest rates can have on a business. Rates have been low for some time now and that has allowed for the further investment into farms and equipment. We need to be building resilience into operations so that should interest rates spike our communities won't be adversely affected.
The input costs for cereal growing has risen exponentially with signs of further increases to come - we need to prioritise making our own chemical and fertiliser.
DALTON: More farm workers' visas are critical to keep our farms and local businesses operating. I would aim to get the state government to be more proactive, with the federal government, in arranging this.
Do you think enough funding is being directed to regional infrastructure, eg roads and health facilities?
TELFER: State government needs to continue to invest in road infrastructure, in addition to the extra $125 million invested in the past two years, especially along our main highways being the Eyre, Lincoln, Tod, Flinders and Birdseye highways. I am a strong advocate for the continuation of the Mobile Blackspot program, which has already invested millions of dollars into our region, to ensure connectivity for our dynamic businesses.
The EP contributes so much to the economy of the state and I will be a strong advocate for more appropriate levels of investment in our essential services and infrastructure.
HABERMANN: The community has been asking for years for funding assistance when they have to travel to Adelaide for health specialist services. It is only on the eve of an election that the Liberal Party has promised an increase.
In relation to roads, the highways through the electorate of Flinders have become a patchwork quilt as sections are repaired after failing because of the extra trucks. This compounded because the government has approved two new ports in Tumby Bay Council area but is not providing any funds to establish an east-west road. The money would be better spent upgrading the government's railway line.
POYNTER: I don't understand why our government wants to spend $660m on a city stadium when realistically our hospitals, ambulance, aged care, child care, housing and family care services are all desperately short of funding. Most EP locals do not care about a city stadium - they want help with everyday issues, we need our government to put our local communities first rather than build expensive monuments.
DALTON: EP does not need another basketball stadium built in Adelaide, we need the money spent to upgrade the roads across EP, especially with the increased mining and grain trucks, due to the railway closures in recent decades.
- Labor's Sarah Tynan and The Greens' Kathryn Hardwick-Franco were invited to participate but did not respond by deadline.
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