Dear Editor,
Will the Nationals continue on their downward path, or do they have the courage to take action and reverse the trend?
It is a fascinating question that has hit the spotlight again following their poor showing in the Eden-Monaro by-election, and general discontent with the party which used to dominate our regional political landscape.
One national commentator stated this week, “Deputy Prime Minister Michael McCormack’s incompetence has again been exposed …”
So, is this at the heart of the problem, or does it go deeper. Why are so many previously ‘rusted on’ Nationals voting for other parties and independent candidates?
I believe the Nationals’ Federal Member for Nicholls, Damian Drum inadvertently provided the answer when he recently told us we were not getting essential changes to the Murray-Darling Basin Plan because the Liberal Party was concerned it may impact their vote in Adelaide.
If the Nationals are to regain lost ground they must stand up and be counted, which Mr McCormack does not seem prepared to do. Another commentator at the weekend, talking about the Nationals’, said that, “… whenever we go cold on the party, it’s because the leadership has rusted off the very base it represents”. That is what has happened.
It is pointless having a small group of Nationals bemoaning the issues being faced in the communities they represent, but a leadership that doesn’t have the courage to fix them.
If the party wants to re-emerge, it must stop being a Liberal lapdog. And this starts at the top.
Lindsay Marshall
Blighty, NSW
