The effectiveness of Local Land Services and its implementation since January was fiercely debated at NSW Farmers’ Association annual conference in Sydney on Tuesday.
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Many of the 300 farmers gathered at Luna Park in Milsons Point raised their concerns with the voting processes for elected representatives with Local Land Services.
Their concerns culminated in a call for the NSW government to implement optional electronic voting for Local Land Services elections.
Re-elected association president Fiona Simson, pictured, said: “Farmers have rightly raised concerns about being able to return votes in time in order to participate in the elections.”
On the floor of conference, farmers also debated the equity of the current voting process wanting a fair say for what they own, arguing for each farm title holder to be entitled to a vote in Local Land Services elections.
They also called for the chairperson of each Local Land Services regions to be elected by board members each calendar year.
Ms Simson said that issues raised by farmers demonstrated a willingness by farmers for the new Local Land Services model to work and to work well.
“With any new entity there will always be the need for some adjustments once operational. The key to success will be how well these issues can be addressed,” she said.