The Shooters and Fishers Party in New South Wales has applied to change its name to the Shooters, Fishers and Farmers Party, saying it feels there is "no major political force actively working for farmers".

In a statement released today the party said it was increasingly championing rural and regional issues.

"Farmers, like shooters and fishers, have been largely neglected and oppressed by the major parties and the Greens," the statement said.

"This change to the name of the party is reflective of our evolving advocacy and campaigning for the farming sector.

"We have championed for many rural and regional-based issues, including native vegetation laws, water restrictions ... coal seam gas and absolute private property rights."

Shooters and Fishers Upper House MP Robert Borsak acknowledged the move was also prompted by the Federal Government's proposed changes to the Senate voting system, which would disadvantage them and other minor parties.

"There seems to be a mood out there amongst the major parties to remove any possibility of minor and micro parties getting any real representation at all in Parliament, it's antidemocratic," Mr Borsak said.

"The Liberal Party and the National Party, at the federal level, are going to get in bed with the Greens, you've got to start saying to yourself: 'well someone needs to stand up for the bush, someone needs to stand up for the right side of politics', the Shooters and Fishers Party is prepared to do that."

Mr Borsak said he expected the move could anger the National Party, which traditionally painted itself as the advocate of farmers and regional communities.

"It may well do, but at the end of the day if they were covering their bases, delivering for farmers we wouldn't have any political purchase when it comes to these matters," he said.

The trouble is once they get the white cars and positions the Cabinet solidarity fires in, they're the tail that wags on the Liberal Party dog."

NSW Nationals 'happy to be judged by results'

The party has applied to the New South Wales Electoral Commission to change the name and said it was unaware of any reasons that should preclude it from doing so.

But the leader of the NSW Nationals, Deputy Premier Troy Grant, said regional communities would not be fooled by the rebrand.

"In this world we've got pretenders and we've got contenders," he said.

He said the Nationals were still excellent representatives for their regional constituents.

"I'm always happy to be judged by results and in the last five years regional New South Wales has turned around," Mr Grant said.

"It's not because someone has put a different title in their name, it's because we've brought substantive economic policy and and rigour to the investment of a region that was forgotten and neglected for 16 years."


http://www.abc.net.au/news/2016-02-24/shooters-and-fishers-party-changing-name-t...

Quote:

Got it in one. The Nationals are just Liberals wearing hats for the rural cred.

lee wrote on Feb 28^th, 2016 at 11:13am:


Typical of greenswine, if he knows people are basically fed up reading his 'boring' and inaccurate posts, he tries to encourage interest by using a totally and sensationally false title to the thread.

There are a lot more fishermen around than farmers. This party just has trouble courting them with their self destructive policies.

Of course I know. But I am not telling.