What matters to The Land readers this election
As the politicians hit the hustings for one more day before the NSW State Election, The Land readers say drought, water, climate change and native vegetation laws could sway their vote.
But 27 per cent say they are still undecided.
The Land surveyed 832 people online and we reported on the results - you also had your say on what matters to you this election.
Far West
- "Need to spend money in the bush/water security for the rivers, more dams, no fly in out for miners, make them live in the local towns, help farmers/graziers in drought times.The old saying when the bush is going good the country is good." - Male 55 and over.
- "Being a previous Nat voter will no longer vote for Nats Libs or Lab, time to vote for another party or independents." - Male 55 and over.
- "Let the river run!!!!!" - Female 35-44
- "It is seriously getting hard to work out who your vote may go to. Really need to read the fine print or definitely ask when voting." Male 55 and over.
- "CSG is not mentioned, it is another burning issue we do not want. The other is for the Nats to implode and disappear." - Female 55 and over.
- "I have been a life long Nationals voter. I have voted for them in every election I have been eligible to vote in. If they've lost the likes of me they're in big trouble!" - Female 45-54.
- "Water management is crucial. It has been extremely badly handled by the Lib Nats with the big players benefiting over the small players." - Male 55 and over.
- "Stop killing the darling." - Female 35-44.
- "It would be great to have trains running to Bourke and back to Sydney and have the speed limit towards Dubbo raised to 130. Thanks." - Female 25-34.
Central West/Orana
- "Your climate question is leading. Yes the climate is changing but is it normal within a much larger cycle? Politicians need to stop their fighting, point scoring and empty promises. The nation is on crisis and stuff needs be prioritised. Have no faith in any of them." - Female 45-55.
- "If we don't prioritise the environment, we won't have an environment we can work in." - Female 25-34.
- "We need continuity in Government. The State Government are building more infrastructure which is great but we need more dams, roads and fast rail west of the Great Dividing range. We need food security so need to look after farmers, especially our dairy farmers who have suffered from low milk prices for too long." - Female 45-54.
- "I want a ban on current and future CSG mining and no new coal mines in NSW as farmers and regional communities are competing with mining for water, our most precious natural resource." - Female 55 and over.
- "Nationals lost my vote. We have a person running for the SFF party that is out their meeting and listening to people across the whole electorate." - Male 35-44.
- "Climate change initiatives and regional infrastructure investment are my main areas of concern." - Female 35-44.
- "Nationals won't listen on coal seam gas." - 35-44.
- "I'm a conservation farmer and sick of the mentality of extracting the soil and water at all costs. It doesn't make economic sense in the long term and it's stuffing the country. Native vegetation is not the enemy. There is bugger all left anyway and we need it to keep the soil together. The native veg laws are causing untold damage with all the new clearing going on. It's turning into a dust bowl around here." - Male 45-54.
- "Climate change is not something you 'believe in'. Science just is, whether you believe in it or not." - Female 35-44.
- "The national party have lost all credibility in the bush. Rural and remote families have been forgotten!" - Female 55 and over.
- "Rebuilding stadiums that don't need it, completely addled priorities and destruction of the Darling River are issues. Forced Council amalgamations still linger. Governments sometimes reach a point where they need to be tossed out so they can clean their house .. we are there now." - Male 55 and over.
New England/North West
- "Why is a new stadium so important? Decentralise state government to encourage regional development."
- "All the politicians should band together and get this terrific country back up and running properly." - Female 55 and over.
- "I like following the sports betting odds. Even though I'm not a punter." - Male 35-44.
- "This drought is the worse drought we have ever experienced, and we need real assistance. Our stock need feed and water. We need to keep our breeding stock to provide future income and support our business." - Female over 55.
- "Against CSG. Need more employment opportunities especially for youth." - Female 55 and over
- "Water management and security are key issues to me." - Male 55 and over.
- "The native veg laws are too weak, so are the water laws. We aren't prepared for a changed climate and we will see worse fires, droughts and pest and disease outbreaks. The government hasn't done enough and we are the ones who are going to pay." - Male 45-54.
- "As I said De-amalgamation is the most important to me and our community this election, our community is the most important thing to me and we are hurting. Now this drought is the next most important as our feed has gone and now our water is drying up, as there seems no end in sight at the moment, our food basin is going to be gone and feeding Australia is a very big concern..." - Female 55 and over.
- "Coal seam gas is still a threat to regional North West NSW. Until these licences are banned, this will be a big sway in which way we vote. Nationals continued support of CSG means we will put them last."
- "The state cannot afford a labour/ green govt. Nor can the country. We need coal &/or nuclear power asap." - Male 55 and over.
- "Country areas are suffering the effects of climate change first hand. The Nationals really need to step up to help their communities not just miners." - Male 25-34.
Riverina/Murray
- "Rural roads are a disgrace and these are the pathways for agricultural production and for the producers own safety. Forget the SCG redevelopment, it is of such little consequence to the future of NSW, stick to essential issues not feel good rubbish. Remember NSW doesn't stand for Newcastle - Sydney Woolongong!"
- "I think the Nationals are genuinely trying to make a difference." - Female 25-34
- "Again and again big big money being thrown to Sydney, not enough coming over the divide. The major parties in the regional areas don't seem to have enough clout to drag the dollars here."- Male 55 and over.
- "Climate change is not a belief it's a fact and we are now living it and need to act and adapt. This is true for everyone farmers, townspeople and local businesses."
- "Drought assistance measures generally good. Some, Too difficult to access - particularly Farm Household Assistance. NSW Drought measures pretty good. Water and MDB plan hopeless!!! Needs a complete rewrite. Too big a focus on Environmental flows and not enough on securing water for food and fibre production. Infrastructure spend in rural areas needed to ensure major nation building projects - eg inland rail, have a flow on effect to rural communities struggling with the impact of drought."
- "Why is it only farmers who get drought assistance, what about the small businesses in rural areas?" - Female 45-54.
- "The caliber of the candidates is of grave concern." - Male 55 and over.
- "The sad truth is I think no matter who gets in the country people will be forgotten like they always have been." - Male 18-24.
- "A lot of money in Sydney, Newcastle & Wollongong,a very different picture west of the mountains." - Male 55 and over.
- "There is no equal vote between city and country. We need more police stations in rural areas. Rural Australia is very angry about the MDBA mismanagement." - Female 55 and over.
South-east and Tablelands
- "All governments need to treat Climate Change as the Climate Crisis it actually is." Male 55 and over.
- "As a dairy farmer for four generations, it is time governments to have some control over supermarkets ...to increase the price of milk to the consumers. Believe me there will not be enough fresh milk produced in this country in the next five years to meet the demand. We have had enough of being down trodden and processors not valuing our product. Please do something about it. We are contemplating whether we will stay producing milk" - Female 55 and over.
- "Concerned about greens and animal rights terrorists getting power." - Male 45-54.
- "Poor survey Q re climate change. It has nothing to do with 'belief' or 'faith'. Climate is changing but ruining our economy to dramatically reduce emissions will make no difference to our climate."
- "The Nats have forgotten their bush roots. It is time for another party to step up and fight for us!" - Male 24-34
- "We should abolish State Governments and just have Local and Federal ones to prevent blame shifting, the impediments to achieving National systems and duplication of roles." - Male 45-54.
- "The Nationals now represent the interests of Newcastle Sydney and Wollongong, not their constituents." - Male 35-44
North Coast
- "National Party are country people, that's why I trust them to make decisions in the best interest for our communities." - Male 25-34.
- "At this stage I am undecided ( but believe the Nats have abandoned farmers with their pro coal mining / pro coal seam gas policies)" -Male 55 and over
- "Clearing of koala and other threatened species habitat is indefensible." - male 55 and over.
- "I believe in the Country Party for supporting our Aussie Farmers and knowing the hardships of small business. The other parties are only career based opportunists." - Male 25-34.
- "I'm voting Labor because of their coal seam gas policy." - Female 45-54.
- "My parents are farmers, my aunt and uncle are Liverpool Plains farmers. The disrespect shown by the Morrison government towards rural communities, particularly ...(allowing mining to steal water for free and trash the land) and our waterways is criminal. My family are fed up with the fake country party." - Female 45-55.
- "Koala and coastal emu habitat needs to STOP being destroyed by this government!" -Female 55 and over.
- "Growing drift between city and country values. Need to have funds to build dams on farms using harvestable right to aid drought proofing." - Female 55 and over.
- "The argument between climate change and the economy is a false choice. Without a stable, working climate there is no economy." - Male 35-44.
Newcastle/Hunter
- "Elections come and go and everything always stays the same." - Female 25-34
- "I'm not a farmer but have been visiting country towns and donating to charities over the past 12 months. I'm changing my vote in NSW and federal election purely based on the lack of support government has provided to farmers." - Female 55 and over.
- "I believe in climate change, but not our ability to change the workings of the Earth as a planet. I believe better use of our natural resources is a separate issue over which we have control. We cannot control planetary orbits, volcanic eruptions etc all of which impact on climate. We have to plan for worst case scenarios to ensure ongoing farming viability. My major issue is the lack of accountability of city and urban planners and their ability to clear for new suburbs, whilst farmers have restrictions placed on them to make urban populations feel good, and negate their need to make similar changes to urban environments and planning." - Female 55 and over
- "Regional and country areas need a substantial increase in rural road funding increase for councils, especially the increase in tarred roads. Another is the ability to obtain reasonable cost transport to regional centres on a regular basis that fit with client needs to meet medical and hospital needs if the client can't drive."
- "The rural vote covers a land mass that is under valued and under represented across policy areas. The disconnect between urban and rural on many issues affecting our ability to produce food is growing." - Female 55 and over
Sydney and surrounds
- "It gets harder to decide who to vote for every election because nothing changes. People's salary is not increasing with normal inflation. Supermarkets, electricity companies and petrol companies seem to be able to charge whatever they want and get away with it and it's getting worse. We need someone to get in to parliament and have the guts to think about the normal people of the world." - Female 45-54
- "To be frank, the climate is constantly changing. Human intervention is making it change faster." - Female 25-34
- "If Labor wins, NSW, especially regional NSW, goes backwards." - Male 25-34.
- "The two party system is past it's use by date. Too many back room deals." - Male 55 and over.
- "I'm a grey nomad I travel around the country and see what's happening with my own eyes. Climate change is changing AUSTRALIA we need a government that helps the farmers adapt to climate change while doing its maximum to help stop climate change." - Male 55 and over.
- "We only have one voice that will work for the people in today's and future of our land and that is from Jeremy Buckingham. And to listen to our original Elders the native Aboriginal people." - Male 45-54.
- "Ex-Broken Hillite here. River connectivity and water equity in the Murray-Darling Basin is a key election issue in NSW and Federally." - Female 45-44.
Central Coast
- "We need politicians to work for the Australian taxpayer I haven't seen that happen much in my 50 years of life." - Male 45-54