COUNTRYMINDED will launch an extensive recruiting process to appoint quality candidates to contest targeted rural seats, largely in NSW, at the upcoming federal election.
This week the Australian Electoral Commission announced it had approved Country Minded’s application for official party registration status after it was lodged in January this year with the 500 required signatures.
The Mature Australia Party and Derryn Hinch's Justice Party were also green-lighted by the AEC.
CountryMinded founder and leader Peter Mailler farms near Goondiwindi on the NSW and Queensland border and was also instrumental in establishing Grain Producers Australia following the demise of the Grains Council of Australia.
He also ran for Katter's Australian Party (KAP) at the 2013 federal election as its number one NSW Senate candidate but established CountryMinded due to frustrations at the Coalition’s perceived natural grip on regional politics; as revealed by Fairfax Media in late 2014.
But with official AEC formalities cleared, Mr Mailler said CountryMinded was now, ”in the race”.
“We will be running upper house and lower house candidates at the federal election,” he said.
“Everything starts getting serous now.”
The newly established rural political force will employ a recruiting agency to assess the calibre of potential candidates to run in various rural seats.
Mr Mailler said the Queensland seats in focus included Wide Bay that’s currently held by retiring Nationals’ leader Warren Truss and Maranoa where LNP MP Bruce Scott is stepping down this year and was also elected in 1990, like Mr Truss.
He said CountryMinded would look to field candidate in the New England electorate where Nationals leader, Deputy Prime Minister and Agriculture and Water Resources Minister Barnaby Joyce is facing a monumental clash with his predecessor and arch political rival, former independent MP Tony Windsor.
Other seats in the party’s core thinking include the Queensland seat of Wright held by LNP MP Scott Buchholz who considered defecting from the Liberals into the federal National’s party room along with Senior LNP MP Ian Macfarlane late last year.
In NSW, CountryMinded will also seek to run candidates in; Farrer, held by the Health and Sport Minister and Liberal MP Sussan Ley; Hume held by rising star Liberal MP Angus Taylor; Parkes held by Nationals’ Chief Whip Mark Coulton; Calare held by retiring Nationals MP John Cobb; and Riverina held by senior Nationals MP Michael McCormack who was touted as a contender for the Nationals leadership in February.
Mr Mailler said the CountryMinded movement was “all community based; not ego driven”.
“He said were strong community support existed in regional seats for his party and they can engage good quality candidates “is where we will run”.
“If we can’t find a quality candidate we won’t run in that seat,” he said.
Mr Mailler said the new party had members in every State and Territory of Australia but limited resources which may limit its capacity to penetrate electorates in other regions like WA, Victoria or SA.
He said fundraising strategies would also start to take serious shape to complement the candidate recruiting process.
“What we’re trying to do is provide a well-informed conscious on rural and agricultural issues in Canberra and not to be tied down to party structures,” he said.
“Our motivation is not just about the failure of rural and regional Liberals and Nationals but also about our mission to provide quality representation for country people.”
Last year, the party’s name was changed to CountryMinded after the Australian Country Alliance in Victoria altered its title to the Australian Country Party, the month before.
In late 2014 when the new party was revealed, federal Nationals director Scott Mitchell said the proposed political faction would only serve to dilute rural voters.
“It looks like another micro party who may give those people who want to protest an opportunity to do so,” he said.
Mr McCormack said fringe groups and individuals had always existed in the political system “who’ve thought they could represent regional areas better than anyone else”.
He said critics had also been writing-off the Country Party and now the National Party since 1920 “but yet we’ve continued to speak up and deliver”.
“We’re the only mainstream party that represents the interests of regional people and the only party that’s made sure that when our regions are strong so too is our nation,” he said.
“We understand that better than anyone and we have form on the board, with nearly 100 years solid representation.
“National Party members have never shirked our duty even when it’s meant crossing the floor or standing up to the tide and at great cost personally to our members.
“It’s easy for fringe groups to take pot shots at established parties like the Nationals and think they can change the world overnight but it’s not that easy and it takes experience and a united front from a group of like-minded people with runs on the board and that is the federal members of the Nationals.”
In mid-2014, Shadow Agriculture and Rural Affairs Minister Joel Fitzgibbon established the ALP’s Country Caucus to increase focus on rural and regional policy issues which will also see various seats targeted.
Federal parliament resumes next week for a specially convened session where the outcome could potentially see a double dissolution election held on July 2.
