Dear Sir,

I note the presence of Labor Senator Sam Dastyari in Armidale and Tamworth last week hoping to whip up support for a Labor candidate next time the voters go to the polls. One program Senator Dastyari wouldn’t have mentioned is the mobile phone tower roll-out because when last in government Labor did not build one tower and show no signs of changing that stance. The Nationals in government have already delivered 237 and over 700 are planned. Senator Dastyari wouldn’t have mentioned the relocation of government agencies to regional towns, the Building Better Regions Fund or coal-fired power generation to keep the lights on and the air-conditioning operating because Labor doesn’t support these policies. Nor does it support the relocation of the APVMA from Canberra to Armidale and would do

everything in its power to take these new jobs away from Armidale. He did claim the community has been taken for granted, and I agree this was the case when Tony Windsor was the Federal member. Agriculture was the largest contributor to national GDP growth last financial year and despite the prevailing dry conditions in many parts, confidence is high in regional Australia. All that would change under a CFMEU-led Labor government.