Nationals candidate for Murray and Mayor of Edward River Council Peta Betts has voiced on numerous occasions that there is a possibility that she will continue in both roles.
When asked by the Pastoral Times if that was her intention, Cr Betts said she was undecided but also remarked “what could be better?”
“Nothing is better than a mayor on the ground who knows what’s going on to be able to put that up to the table of Parliament,” Cr Betts said.
“People are of the assumption that I have to step down (as mayor); if I get elected they are of the assumption I have to step down. Both of those assumptions are incorrect.
“It is totally up to me.”
A proud Deniliquin local, Ms Betts grew up in Conargo and attended school and TAFE in Deniliquin.
Her first full-time job was in a local solicitor’s office as a legal secretary, before she went on to undertake a law degree and open her own conveyancing practice.
In 2017, she was elected to the Edward River Council, and in 2022 was voted in as Mayor.
If elected, Ms Betts’ priorities for the Murray electorate include upgrading hospitals, employing more health care workers, ensuring support for small and medium businesses, providing better assistance to farmers during these periods of recovery and making the region more attractive as a place to live, work, play and raise a family.
Family, community, commitment, and respect are all attributes that are not only important to Cr Betts, but she says they also make up the characteristics of who she is.
“These are the qualities that I take with me when I fight for our communities,” Cr Betts said.
“My mantra isn’t about what I can’t do but rather what I can do to get things done.”
Speaking on the most talked-about topic of the region — water, Cr Betts said it was the lifeblood of the electorate and that it was crucial no more consumptive water was taken out of the Southern Basin.
“The Murray electorate produces some of the best food and fibre anywhere in the world,” Ms Betts said.
“I want to see irrigation continue across the Southern Basin for many decades to come, ensuring our next generation of farmers have the same opportunities that our grandparents did.”
Cr Betts said this was achievable, but all basin states and the Commonwealth needed to provide certainty and a pathway on how this would be achieved.
“It’s important that no further non-strategic buybacks occur in the Southern Basin,” she said.
“I know the NSW Water Minister Kevin Anderson is fighting for more time and flexibility to deliver the remaining Sustainable Diversion Limit Adjustment Mechanism (SDLAM) projects — and I back that.
“This includes pushing for new projects to be considered under SDLAM which would provide equivalent environmental outcomes without the need for more water to be recovered from the Southern Basin.”
NSW Deputy Premier Paul Toole said the people of Murray needed strong representation during uncertain times.
“That can only come from the NSW Nationals and our candidate Peta Betts,” Mr Toole said.
“As Mayor of Edward River, Peta is already used to representing a community spread over a big geographic area.”
Mr Toole said the Nationals had a clear vision for the Murray electorate and a long-term economic plan that would “ensure they keep delivering the investment that regional communities like Moama deserve.”
“We’ve invested more than $15 million across the Murray River LGA to help council tackle potholes, fix the roads communities use every day and replace timber bridges — and we’ve got another $1 billion committed to invest right across the bush,” he said.
“I see a long-term future for farming and irrigation in Moama and the Murray region, that’s why the NSW Nationals position when it comes to the Murray-Darling Basin Plan is very clear. We do not support buybacks.
“The basin plan must be delivered in a way that has community support and does not disadvantage farmers or communities.”
The Riv attempted to contact Peta Betts on several occasions to conduct an interview, however, those requests were not accepted.