Have Your Say

TRANSCRIPT: SOUNDS OF THE MOUNTAINS, 24 July 2025

24 July 2025

Subjects: Parliament Sitting Fortnight, Net-Zero, Richard Norden VC, Cootamundra-Gundagai Council demerge, US tariffs,

E&OE

STARTS: 8.38am

ENDS

DAVID EISENHAUER

It is 22 to 9 on this Thursday morning. Fairly misty in the Valleys but a nice start through the mountains, some snow on the roads. Don’t forget we’ve got chains on a lot of roads up across the mountains. We’ll check those details very soon. Driving, of course, around our school zones at the moment as well. So, travel safely. Well, every fortnight we catch up and talk with Member for Riverina Michael McCormack and Michael joins us on the line this morning. Michael, good morning.

 

MICHAEL McCORMACK

Good morning to you, David.

 

DAVID EISENHAUER

On a very wintry day, Michael, and very busy 24 hours or so for you. You’ve been on a lot of different news services and things at the moment, too. A lot of things happening in the world of politics. Of course, the first sitting day yesterday, but importantly, the speech that you made in Parliament. I know Wes (Fang, NSW Legislature Council Member) and I talked about that yesterday and interesting.

 

MICHAEL McCORMACK

You mean the one about Speaker Milton Dick …?

 

DAVID EISENHAUER

… Absolutely …

 

MICHAEL McCORMACK

… nomination … well, I was told that that was only the fourth time that somebody from the other side had actually endorsed or seconded the nomination for a Speaker since Federation and it was a real privilege to be able to do that. I think it was well received by all Parliamentarians because Milton Dick has been an exemplar for the role. And yes, look, he’s always going to be a little bit inclined to, you know, lean a little bit towards the Government, but he’s obviously a Labor person, and that’s the way it’s always been. And the Government is the ruling body and obviously they run the Parliament, they’ve got the mandate to do so. They don’t have a mandate to ruin regional Australia, we’ll come back to that. But in the main, I’m very much in support of the Speaker. I’m very much a supporter of what he’s doing for civics education for school children to understand what Parliament is all about, the processes, the protocols, the difference between Local, State and Federal and also, very much an advocate for the flag, for our national flag, is Milton Dick and, certainly, what he’s doing taking the flag around the electorates, he’s promised to do it to every single electorate and I’ve certainly invited him to the Riverina and he’s looking forward to coming. I was very pleased to he gave a shout-out to my wife Catherine. He and Catherine and I have been good friends, we’ve been to dinner a few times and you do form these partnerships and bonds across the aisle. I think people think that just politics is sometimes the argy-bargy and they all hate each other, and they all argue, but look, I have a high regard for Milton Dick and that’s why I seconded his nomination.

 

DAVID EISENHAUER

No, no, Wes and I talked about that and those issues yesterday, especially the education in schools too, just to teach more from Local, State, Federal, what does it mean, how does it affect us, all those sorts of things. Michael, let’s have a look, in the news, I know you were on Sky last night, there have been different services around the region, net zero, and of course the rush to renewables that we’re seeing at the moment, watching the Minister yesterday, Chris Bowen, and his responses there. We’re talking to you on a much lower level than a lot of those big media organisations today, Michael. Let’s bring it back to our local communities around our region.

 

MICHAEL McCORMACK

And all politics is local, and if you don’t support local people, well, what’s the point of going to Canberra? If you don’t speak up when you’re required to do so, and a lot of politicians don’t, then I just don’t think that, you probably, you should go and do something else, quite frankly. And I’m troubled by the roll-out of renewables across the electorate, particularly the new parts of the electorate where we’ve got, at Binalong and Bowning at the moment, a situation where they want to build 90 wind towers as high as the Crown Barangaroo Casino. It’s a problem for those people in that area. Emma Webb is leading the charge with her father, Angus Oberg – they’re wool farmers. They’ve got the prospect, it’s a bad word to use because its Wind Prospect doing it, but Wind Prospect have gone in, have signed up some, not others. But even so, there’s been very little, if hardly at all, consultation. They’ve divided farmers, they’ve divided families. The people who have known each other and been friends for generations, now the families aren’t talking to one another. They’ve broken up family relationships. This isn’t Australia, certainly not the regional Australia that you and I grew up in, when you’ve got these companies, who come in and do that. And then they offer these riches, they throw a few, it’s a bit like beads and blankets, they throw a few little things out for the local footy team and the local show and sponsor that for a few years and then they come and go. And then, of course, when these wind towers and solar panels need to be decommissioned down the track, well, who pays for that? But more than that, it’s upsetting the lifestyles and livelihoods of people. It’s devaluing their property. And I appreciate that Chris Bowen and Labor have a mandate to govern. I do. And I’m not against renewables, I’m not. But they don’t have a mandate to ruin regional Australia, and I will stick up for these farmers, for these people. And it’s not just Binalong and Bowning, it’s Crookwell, it’s Gregadoo, it’s Mangoplah, it’s Maxwell, it’s right throughout. I was told the other day by Kerry Langfield out at Mangoplah, that the local Rural Fire Service is not going to attend fires with the proposed battery energy storage system because of the toxicity of the flames. Now, when you’ve got your volunteers saying, “well, I’m not going to go out there if that place catches on fire because I don’t want to get those toxic fumes in the system,” you can understand there’s a problem.

 

DAVID EISENHAUER

Isn’t that true? And that’s one of the big concerns. But I think one of the big issues that you’ve raised on various channels in the last 24 hours is that over the fence, your next-door neighbours, and the rifts that that’s causing in communities, and still it’s making news again this morning on the socials as well, that debate that’s going on, Michael, that it’s appearing that they haven’t sort of taken that into account when these concepts have been pushed through. And they don’t seem to be caring much about it either, but the locals certainly are. I mean, particularly, as you mentioned, around Binalong and surrounds.

 

MICHAEL McCORMACK

When you get 200-plus people crammed into a very tiny community hall, a community hall, mind you, where there’s nearly 200 names of people who lost their lives fighting for this country, and you see that this country is now going to go the way of this littering of wind towers, you can understand why local people are concerned. But I can say, it’s not just the new parts of the electorate, I see Wagga Wagga City Council have put in a new motion and looking to also put the brakes a bit on what are the State Significant priority or status projects. So, what happens is that the State Government under this State Significant priority status can ride roughshod over local councils, local people and Local Environmental Plans, Local Development Control plans, so locals don’t get a say. It’s simply not good enough. And the city people who want to vote these politicians in, these Greens and teals, they’re not having, as I told Canberra radio this morning when all the phone lines were running hot and people were texting and saying, “oh, Michael McCormack’s terrible, blah, blah, blah”, well, I said, “put your wind towers up in Kingston and, you know, Manuka and those sorts and see how they like it.” See how they like it. Regional Australia has done the heavy lift for way too long, you just can’t then be expected to keep copping it, David. It’s not right. It’s not fair. It’s not Australian. And if I don’t speak up, then, you know, I’m not probably doing my job as a Member of Parliament. But more than that, our party has decided at state conference and local branch level that they want net zero repealed. And so, again, if I go to Canberra and I don’t do what the people who send me to Canberra want, and I appreciate there are many, many of your listeners who probably think net zero is a great thing. I get that. But it’s got to be a balance. And we’ve got to have the projects, renewable projects, in the right place at the right time. And I get that the environment’s important. I do. But we just can’t have this proliferation of projects which is ruining people’s lives and livelihoods.

 

DAVID EISENHAUER

Well, especially when you look at Victoria, I mean that a $12,000 fine, whatever it is, for disallowing access on to properties, that’s causing some … What the big worry is, and no-one’s talking about this, is the mental health of our farmers in these communities that we’re talking about as well too, Michael. That’s something that’s very significant. We talk with Murrumbidgee Local Health about this on a Tuesday fortnight, about the health and wellbeing of our communities. This is putting a massive strain on that particular part, forget about the tower, everything else that’s happening with the actual technology side, the mental health and wellbeing of our farming communities and our individual farmers at the moment, particularly when they’re losing the rights of their land. It’s something to really keep an eye on for sure.

 

MICHAEL McCORMACK

Well I heard a farmer from Rye Park the other day, it’s a town in the Southern Tablelands region, It’s in the Hilltops Council Local Government Area, formerly Young Shire, Harden Shire area, which is in the electorate, Riverina electorate, who just walked off his property the other day, just put it up for sale, doesn’t want to know about it because of his mental health strains, because of this roll-out for renewables. And this is a concern. Now, I appreciate that not everybody’s going to be like that, too. There will be some farmers who will embrace this. I get that. I understand that. But in the main, it’s not good.

 

DAVID EISENHAUER

Michael, one other thing that’s been discussed quite extensively in the media is David Littleproud and, of course, the leadership of The Nationals. We’ve watched toing and froing in the last 24 hours. Let’s talk about that. You’ve got the eyes on the chair.

 

MICHAEL McCORMACK

Well, David is the Leader, and I supported him in the recent ballot when the leadership was contested against Matt Canavan, Senator from the LNP from Queensland, I supported David. All I’ve said when asked about the leadership, I’m not contesting the leadership, I’m not contesting the leadership. But when they say, will you rule out yourself ever being the Leader of the Nationals again? Well, I’m not going to give that endorsement or encouragement, because the moment you do, as they refer back to the interview, I mean, who knows what might happen in 12 months, two years, three years, who knows? There may well be some situation which requires people to put their hands up for the leadership. And if you put a red line through your name for evermore, well, I mean, who’s going to do that? I’m not. But I’ve said quite clearly, journalists can take what they like from that, but I have said that I’m not contesting the leadership any time soon. But if it comes up in the future and the situation demanded it or required it, well you know, you’d always think about it. But at the moment David’s the Leader, I support him and good luck to him. I think he needs to be strong on this net zero situation and it’s not just The Nationals either. I have to say, there are others as well, Andrew Hastie, who is, of course, a West Australian. Some have earmarked him as a future Liberal Leader. Well, I see that he has moved a motion to the Liberal State Executive in Western Australia for the Federal Coalition to, and he’s in Canning, which is, that’s the division of where he resides, to ditch net zero. That’ll be debated and voted on at the upcoming State Council there. So that’s an interesting thing and the number of Liberals who reached out to me over the past 48 hours to say “bravo, well done.” Well, there you go, so, it’s not just The Nationals. And I know that the people said, “oh, you’re putting a rift between the Coalition partners.” Well, again, it does come down to the fact that, well, I was the one who got the two parties back together when they separated, and I thought that was a good and necessary thing. I don’t want to see the Coalition ended, of course I don’t. But the other thing too is if you don’t speak up, there’s never a good time to be a bit controversial in politics. The journalists will always follow you around and you know, you’ll be the flavour of the day …

 

DAVID EISENHAUER

… Of course …

 

MICHAEL McCORMACK

… as far as the interview is concerned. But you’ve got to have your say. You’ve got to have your say, David …

 

DAVID EISENHAUER

… its really interesting to watch …

 

 

MICHAEL McCORMACK

… People want to say, “oh, what’s David Eisenhauer? Who’s he got on his show today? Who? What’s he talking about? What are the people thinking about?” You’ve got to be out there and putting your views forward. That’s what it’s all about. That’s what the media, that’s what politics is about.

 

DAVID EISENHAUER

Indeed. Michael, we’ll be talking more about this, no doubt, and, of course, you will be as the day goes along today. But let’s come back into something that was in recent, it was only just last week, and of course the Richard Norden, the VC, the investiture, wasn’t this well supported by the community, and it will be once the statues are, but last week with that live stream coming in.

 

MICHAEL McCORMACK

I was very proud to speak on behalf of Gundagai, on behalf of Opposition Leader Sussan Ley, in fact, about Richard Norden, the investiture there in Rockhampton. He had the investiture at Rockhampton, his family, because his wife, his widow, Robynn Freeman, is unwell, and she couldn’t make it as far as Canberra, and we sympathise with her. But, gee, she was glowing on the day, and it was a wonderful day. Her sons Scott and Shane were there as well, and so many of his comrades – so many of his comrades from his Vietnam War days, were there. Also, the ACT Police, and he lost his life in 1972, aged just 24, lost his life on Hindmarsh Drive riding a motorcycle on duty, and they were there too. It was an amazing and marvellous ceremony. I referenced Abb McAlister, the affable Gundagai Mayor. Helen Castles has done a power of good writing these stories and advocating for as, I have, for the Victoria Cross to be awarded, following on, he got a DCM, a Distinguished Conduct Medal, of course, back in the day, 1968, but it should have always been a VC. And Paul Vercoe, who travelled all the way up to Rockhampton for the ceremony. It was good to have that Gundagai influence, and Gundagai can be very proud of Richard Norden, Richard Leslie Norden. A true hero. Only the 102nd Australian to be awarded a Victoria Cross. And we should be very, very proud of him. And of course, the statue will be unveiled in May next year on the anniversary, the 14th, of the Coral Balmoral Battle, in which he performed such gallant deeds, risking his life. He was injured, he was badly hurt, but you know he came back, got himself better, played in the Maher Cup for Gundagai, the Mighty Tigers …

DAVID EISENHAUER

… That’s right …

 

MICHAEL McCORMACK

… And he was a doer, there’s no doubt about it …

 

DAVID EISENHAUER

Well, we just saw so much community spirit, and of course, that was tied in afterwards with the announcement, from a State level there, of the demerger of the Cootamundra-Gundagai Regional Council Area.

 

MICHAEL McCORMACK

Big week for Gundagai.

 

DAVID EISENHAUER

Big week for Gundagai, and of course, Member for Cootamundra, Steph Cooke was there, Mayor Abb McAlister, and of course a cast of thousands watching over the days, with the wonderful reporting of Helen Castles, and the paper and the stories there. But that’ll be an interesting journey going forward as we talk to Abb about that on Monday. And, of course, then all eyes will focus in on the Snowy Valleys with that referendum not far away.

 

MICHAEL McCORMACK

The, State Local Government Minister Ron Hoenig, did, suggest to Julie Ham that they were next. So, let’s wait and see what happens in that regard. These mergers should never have happened, never have happened. I appreciate that councils should resource share, they should. They should do what they can, but they already were, to make sure that they share resources and do the sorts of things to help one another. But at the end of the day, these mergers were a folly and it’s proven to be so.

 

DAVID EISENHAUER

Well, Michael, before we go, something that’s making news this morning, and I know it’s very much across your area seriously, the tariffs that Australia is lifting the beef bans on importing US Beef. What’s your thoughts there?

 

MICHAEL McCORMACK

Yes. The Albanese Government has lifted the biosecurity restrictions on US beef, paving low for the full resumption of exports to Australia. I’m not quite sure we need, US beef coming into Australia. We’ve got enough beef of our own quite frankly.

 

DAVID EISENHAUER

Why are they doing this?

 

MICHAEL McCORMACK

Well, it removes the key excuse given by the Trump administration for imposing steep tariffs on our steel, et cetera. Look, our farmers are strong enough to, and our beef is of equality enough to withstand this, and I appreciate the Government needs to do something to get the tariffs reduced by America. But you know what, here’s a tip for the Prime Minister, get on a plane and go and visit Washington. Get a face-to-face meeting. I mean, you can get any number of meetings with Xi Jinping from China, I mean, come on, seriously. The US is our closest friend and ally. If things happen that are quite untoward in the future in the difficult geopolitical space that we are in at the moment, and in a volatile world, we’re going to need America, I appreciate that. But do we need American beef imports? Well, we’ll be very much looking at this and seeing how much beef is going to come in. I mean, like I say, we don’t need American beef. We don’t. But, yes, America needs us far more than we’ll need them, in in the beef regard, as much as I think they probably eat quite a few more hamburgers than we do. So, our beef is a far superior quality to Americans, and they know it. They’ve used it in their beef patties, in their burgers for many, many years. It’s a worry. It’s a concern.

 

DAVID EISENHAUER

And I love talking about the future successes of our farming communities, especially those younger ones. We’re watching the generational change at the moment in a lot of farming properties in the region. These younger farmers coming through faced with a whole different set of challenges, Michael, than we were, say, even 30 or 40 years ago, aren’t we?

 

MICHAEL McCORMACK

They still have that spirit of the land and they’ve inherited it from generations past, from their fathers and mothers who turned an arid wasteland into a veritable Garden of Eden. And that’s the Australian story. And I’ll always back Australian farmers every day of every week against anything that, the US produces or any other country for that matter.

 

DAVID EISENHAUER

Indeed. I believe it’s news time. Anything else you’d like to add today?

 

MICHAEL McCORMACK

Be safe on the road. You know I always say it, David.

 

DAVID EISENHAUER

Very important, especially during the return to school for New South Wales and Victorian listeners around the region, two of those schools. Michael McCormack, really appreciate your time. Lots to chat about again in a fortnight. Thanks for joining us today.

 

MICHAEL McCORMACK

Talk soon. Thanks, Dave.

 

DAVID EISENHAUER

The Member for Riverina, Michael McCormack joining us today as we do each and every Thursday. I’ve done for years and years, and we catch up with, the Member for Riverina just after the 08.30 news headlines. We’re heading up into the mountains very talking Snowy 2.0. And, of course, Dean Lynch joining us there with our Snowy news updates coming along very soon. Busy morning, plenty of local voices as we do each and every day including local school voices. Some of our schools are back this week, some are taking just this week off just to settle back into the school pattern. Next week, just under 20 schools we can talk to in a fortnight’s time. There’s lots of schools in the region. We love catching up. If your school hasn’t been a part of the school news and you would like to be and there’s other schools that aren’t, you’d be more than welcome. Give us a call, we’ll find a spot and get you, get you your own time slot there. It’d be terrific. But, we love talking in local voices and we talk to just dozens of people each and every week here on the local station. So much to chat about. We appreciate each and every guest and of course, today with Michael McCormack. News is next.

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