Matt Canavan on a visit to the Tatura Hotel on Wednesday, September 2, wearing a Rex James Transport hat that he picked up in Nathalia.
Photo by
Ashley Darling
At the end of a two-day visit to northern Victoria, Nationals Leader Senator Matt Canavan wound it up with a 90-minute ‘meet-the-people’ visit to a Tatura pub.
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More of a lounge, rather than a public bar, but still an open invitation to the citizens to try him out with some questions about agriculture, water policy, data centres, farm labour and the Paris climate agreement.
About 50 people turned out for the “pollies in the pub” event, including the subtle presence of former deputy premier Pat McNamara and former Victorian minister Bill Baxter.
Sporting a Rex James Transport baseball cap, after a visit to Nathalia, Senator Canavan pressed home complaints about the high taxing Federal Government, promising that a future coalition government would get out of the way of business, reduce immigration and support agriculture.
Never missing an opportunity for a dig at One Nation, Senator Canavan recalled how South Australian MP Cory Bernardi once co-hosted a press conference with Greens Senator Hanson Young on a water issue.
One fruit grower gave the senator some free advice: make sure the Nats distinguish between mass immigration (the coalition wants less) and skilled labour schemes, like the Pacific Area Labor Mobility project (the coalition wants to keep these).
Farmers fear they could lose a reliable supply of seasonal labour in any broad migration clamp down.
When the Q and A session drifted, as these talks are want to do, and the topic settled on population, the Queensland Senator remarked he was doing his bit, with five children.
After the crowd had left the Tatura Hotel, Senator Canavan enjoyed a counter tea.
Part of the audience for Senator Matt Canavan’s visit to The Tatura Hotel on Wednesday, September 2.
Photo by
Geoff Adams
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