“To be quite frank, not now, but if you go 50 years down the track, there’ll be local government and there’ll be federal government, and that’s how the nation will be run,” predicted the Member for New England Barnaby Joyce on Wednesday afternoon.
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If we were any other country in the world we would have new states by now
- Barnaby Joyce
“Local government will have far more power than they do now, and very good state members will become very good federal members of government or very good local members of government.
“So, people who are very good representatives won’t lose their jobs, they’ll just move into different fields. We don’t have any new states so the only other alternative to that is to have stronger and more proficient local government areas and to do that they need to be recognised in the constitution.”
What sort of year was it, Barnaby?
Mr Joyce said although the year started with some difficulties, he said he had been certain to get back into delivering for the electorate.
“I get a sense of satisfaction driving down the New England Highway. You see the Bolivia Hill realignment, the Scone bypass, the Armidale roundabout, you look at the money you’ve delivered into the Armidale Airport upgrade … you see the APVMA going ahead, you see the flight training school going into Tamworth you get a real sense of satisfaction.
“There’s a real delivery coming back into the New England and definitely into Armidale.”
Moving the APVMA
Mr Joyce said moving the APVMA to Armidale was never the end game.
“It was a substantial start of part of a process, and the building was emblematic of that,” he said.
“The next step is of course, when the staff are there, trying to assist the chemical companies to go there.”
Mr Joyce described the program of decentralisation as ongoing.
Barnaby’s legacy?
Barnaby said he had borrowed from the trials tribulations of David Henry Drummond and the fight he had trying to get the University of New England started during the 1920’s.
“Just facing the guile and cunning; he really didn’t get approval for it, he just bullshitted his way through, and all I can say is nothing much has changed. You’ve got to be absolutely tenacious,” Mr Joyce said.
Christmas message
Barnaby Joyce said his Christmas message to the electorate was to always learn in life how to take it down a couple of gears for a short time.
“Try to be safe. There will be people killed on the road over this break, but do everything to make sure it is no-one in your family,” he said.
“Christmas for me is about the birth of Christ. Even if you don’t believe that he is the son of God he says some pretty nice things [to] maybe reflect on a couple.”
