The dirty hand of politics can go unnoticed in the city,
buried beneath layers of red tape, headlines, and distance.
Decisions made behind closed doors rarely reach beyond the noise.
But out here—in the country—those same decisions land hard.
They don’t just inconvenience, they upend lives.
They don’t just disappoint, they devastate.

Because in the country, land is not a concept—it’s lived.
It’s inherited, worked, cared for, and defended.
It carries stories older than any policy.
So when a line is drawn on a government map,
it isn’t a line—it’s a scar.
Cutting through farmland, fire ground, and fragile ecosystems.

These choices—made hastily, often carelessly—bring risk.
To homes, to livelihoods, to wildlife, to our volunteer firefighters, to our communities.
And worse, they fracture trust.
Because once the city is done debating,
we’re the ones left holding the consequences.

This is more than a bad call.
It’s a betrayal of the unspoken contract between government and ground.
One that should honour care, not convenience.
One that must start listening before the damage is too deep to undo.

You’ve all seen it—
the inaction,
the dismissiveness,
the deflection from those in power over these past years.
When we’ve spoken, they’ve nodded.
When we’ve raised real fears, they’ve downplayed them.
When we’ve asked for truth, we’ve been handed spin.

But we are not naive.
We know when we’re being managed, not heard.
And we know where this path leads—
because we’ve been walking it,
bearing the cost of every short-sighted, city-born decision.

Now, you face a choice.

A moment to decide whether we keep trudging along the same tired track,
waiting for something to shift from above—
or whether we take a different step entirely.

Because staying the course doesn’t just mean accepting the past—
it means consenting to the next wave of damage.
And we’ve seen enough.

Change will not come from the top down.
It must rise from the ground up—from us.
From people willing to call things by their real names,
to stand together, and to say: No more.

If we are to overturn this tide of bad decisions,
we must bring change forth with clarity, with courage,
and with the deep conviction that this land—and those who care for it—deserve far better.

Vote to Defend Our Communities. Vote to Stop the WRL.

We understand the frustration with party politics. Too often, elected representatives fall in line with their party and forget who they’re really there for. But Catherine King and Sam Rae haven’t just towed the party line — they’ve abandoned the communities they were elected to represent.

For five years, we’ve raised the alarm about the Western Renewables Link (WRL):

• A project that cuts through bushfire-prone regions, putting lives and firefighters at risk
• One that will destroy more than 10,000 acres of productive farmland
• One that fragments native ecosystems, displaces wildlife, and bulldozes cultural heritage
• One that fails to deliver cheaper or more reliable power

Catherine King is the Federal Infrastructure Minister. She had the power — and the responsibility — to act. Sam Rae had the chance to stand up. Neither of them did.

They’ve said little. They’ve done less. And they’ve ignored the farmers, CFA volunteers, councils, and families crying out for help.

Meanwhile, power bills are still rising. Coal plants are closing before there’s anything reliable to replace them. Communities are being sidelined. Environmental protections are being watered down. And all we hear from Labor is more spin, more silence, and more betrayal.

But there is another way.

Simmone Cottom (Liberal – Hawke) and Paula Doran (Liberal – Ballarat) have stood up and spoken out.

They’ve joined farmers on the ground. They’ve challenged the WRL.

No candidate is perfect. But right now, a change is the only way to kill WRL before it’s too late.

This election is not just about energy policy — it’s about our future.

It’s about:

• Protecting our farmland and food security
• Defending fire-prone communities
• Preserving native species and ecosystems
• Restoring community voice and real representation

If we re-elect politicians who have done nothing, we give them permission to do it again.

Vote for real representation.

Vote to stop the WRL.

Vote for a safer, smarter, community-driven energy future.

The Australian Labor Party came to power with bold promises on climate and renewables. But two years on, the cracks are not just showing—they’re ripping through the heart of rural Australia.

Despite pledging a more sustainable, affordable energy future, Labor’s energy transition has turned chaotic. Rural communities have been left paying the price—literally and figuratively—for a policy that’s being driven by headlines, not long-term planning.

Empty Promises, Soaring Bills

The ALP’s headline promise of $275 off electricity bills has gone unfulfilled. Instead, Australians faced a 14% surge in power prices in 2023, with regional families bearing the brunt as transport and supply costs pile on top. Even with rebates, the rising cost of living continues to cut deep into rural households and farming operations already stretched thin.

A Grid Built on Hope, Not Planning

Coal-fired plants are being shuttered ahead of schedule with no stable or reliable backup in place. This haphazard transition risks blackouts and instability, especially in remote and regional areas where infrastructure is already fragile. Promises of renewable energy zones ring hollow when they come without reliable supply or meaningful local benefit.

Transmission Chaos: Environmental and Agricultural Carnage

Perhaps the most devastating blow to rural Australians is the imposed sprawl of transmission infrastructure—like the Western Renewables Link. These massive industrial projects are being fast-tracked with limited consultation, cutting across productive farmland, fire-prone landscapes, and delicate ecosystems.

Reports from the Australian Energy Infrastructure Commissioner and local councils show mounting complaints over environmental damage, biosecurity threats, and disregard for cultural heritage and wildlife corridors. Communities once promised clean energy and consultation are now seeing destruction, division, and silence.

Environmental Law Bending, Trust Breaking

To make way for “fast and clean” energy projects, the ALP has watered down environmental protections through changes to the EPBC Act—undermining the very laws meant to safeguard Australia’s unique landscapes. Once heralded as the climate-conscious party, Labor now stands accused of greenwashing, pushing through developments that prioritise deadlines over due diligence.

Conclusion

Rural Australians are not opposed to renewables—they understand better than most the need for environmental responsibility. But what’s happening isn’t a clean transition. It’s a reckless rollout, hijacked by politics and profit, and delivered at the expense of the very people Labor claimed to champion.

The ALP’s approach has deepened divides, endangered land, and betrayed trust. With a federal election looming, voters in rural and regional seats must ask: who is truly listening—and who is just managing the message?