Member for Riverina Michael McCormack with Merryville’s Rob Clark.
With a redistribution of boundaries occurring before the next Federal election, 14 year veteran Member of Parliament Michael McCormack has seen it all in his career. The former Daily Advertiser Editor and well-known former Deputy Prime Minister made his way to Merryville’s Open Garden on Sunday in support of the Red Cross’ fundraising efforts.
He told the Yass Valley Times, “It was a great opportunity to go and have a look at an historic homestead, one that I’ve read about, one that I’ve heard about, but I’ve never actually been there and of course Walter Merriman was one of the icons of the Australian sheep wool industry, the merinos of course, Australia once rode off a sheep’s back and back in that day he was a leading figure in Australia and to actually see the home that he established and to see what Rob and Ning Clark have done to beautify the gardens since 2013, it’s quite remarkable how they’ve transformed those gardens, and then to be able to support Red Cross, which is a marvellous organisation on the day was good.
“I met a lot of people as I’ve done in recent weeks and months, ever since the boundaries were changed I’ve been trying to get up to that new part of the electorate as much as I can whilst still fulfilling my parliamentary duties and still doing all the work that I would normally do in my parts of the electorate that I have been representing since 2010. It’s been a busy time.
“That night I went to the Yass Golf Club where they had a meeting of the Yass Liberal Branch and a few National Party members went along too, which was good, and they had upwards of forty people there and we had a meet and greet and I did a little speech and then took questions for which would have seemed like about an hour. It was like questions without notice on steroids just about, and they asked every question from costs of living to nuclear energy, the boundaries, immigration, the transmission lines, there was nothing not raised. Every issue was canvassed and every question was answered and it was actually a really good night.
“Alistair Coe, the former Liberal ACT Legislative Assembly leader came along and it was a good opportunity to meet a lot of like-minded supporters.
McCormack has been travelling through the area for years from his Wagga base to Canberra and is familiar with many of the people and how the local communities function.
“I go through there all the time. Interestingly and co-incidentally whilst she wasn’t at the actual dinner, Rowena Abbey the former Mayor came with her husband Brendan and we had a good chat and I appreciate that it is a new part of the electorate whilst I did go there quite a few times as Deputy Prime Minister and other parts too, I gave the people my commitment that I was somebody who turned up, somebody who would always turn up, somebody who will listen and somebody who will act on their concerns.
“Politics isn’t just for six weeks of an election campaign, you have to do the hard yards all year round, you have to turn up whether it’s a school presentation night or a festival, sports event, street fair, church fete, whatever the case might be, they are all good events and I was pleased to be at the Murrumbateman Field Days not that long ago and I will keep turning up to those sorts of events, meeting people and listening to what they have to say and acting on their concerns.
“I was elected into politics in 2010. I’ve been in the Ministry or Shadow Ministry for about ten of those.
McCormack has covered a large number of portfolios and shadow portfolios during his time in his various roles, including: Assistant Minister for Defence, Small Business Minister, Veterans Affairs Minister, Minister for Infrastructure, Transport, Regional Development, Parliamentary Secretary for Finance, Assistant Minister to the Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for the Centenary of Anzac.
He said, “All had a regional focus, all certainly had an electorate focus because Wagga Wagga, which is my home town, is the only regional inland centre with all three arms of the defence and not a lot of people realise that. There was a bit of defence there, and transport.
“The other day the Barton Highway came up and I was proud of my time as the Infrastructure Minister as we did increase funding into duplicating, certainly that section from just outside Murrumbateman to the NSW/Canberra border.
That came in under me and I’m committed to making sure we get that road duplicated.
“I know, I travel it all the time. It’s needed, it’s necessary, it will save lives and I appreciate that is a big issue for people, not just the Barton but all the other highways and byways all over the place.
“There’s a real need for better regional roads.
McCormack said, “I’m happy to work with anybody that gets the job done and I will do that and I will continue to do that and I appreciate that we are not in Government at the moment and I’d like to think that we will be after the next election, but one way or the other I do have good relationships with the people I need to have good relationships with on the government benches because it’s too important not to.
“There’s no sense in burning bridges because in politics you end up in opposition, you end up in Government, you end up in opposition, it ebbs and flows and when you are in opposition it is a lot harder to get things and a lot harder to get things done if you don’t have good relationships with those who then control the treasury.
There’s no doubt Michael McCormack will be highly visible in the coming months with the seasoned politician proving he is fair dinkum when it comes to the value he puts on the work needed to be in the Federal Parliament.