Rebekha Sharkie (Mayo, Centre Alliance) Share this | Hansard source

I rise to support the member for Indi's amendments. They're very sensible amendments. It's very hard, unless you live it, to actually properly, truly represent or provide advice, and that's why it's critical that on this council there be people who truly live and know what it's like to live in regional, rural and remote Australia. Housing needs are very different, particularly when we get into remote Australia, but the pressures on housing are also different in regional Australia. I talked earlier today about the fact that we don't have the public transport infrastructure. In lots of places in my electorate, people rely entirely on rainwater for their house and are on septic. We just don't have the infrastructure and resources that are readily available elsewhere. People in here talk about gas. My goodness, I don't think there's a place in my electorate where gas is mainlined. If you want gas, it's in a bottle. So if we're to look at all of the resources that are needed with housing, it's really critical that we have people from rural and regional Australia who know it, who get it and who live it to be part of this council so as to ensure that this council represents all Australians.

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