Fed: Country people will come back to Nats: Anderson

AAP General News (Australia)
08-30-2004
Fed: Country people will come back to Nats: Anderson

CANBERRA, Aug 30 AAP - Country voters would return to the Nationals because they recognised
the party's importance, leader John Anderson said today.

Mr Anderson conceded that at the 2001 poll voters failed to support the Nationals even
though they voted for the coalition through Liberal Party and conservative independent
candidates.

The party lost three seats in 2001, two to independents Bob Katter and Tony Windsor
and another to Liberal Sussan Ley in the seat once held by former Nationals' leader Tim
Fischer.

There are concerns within the party that Prime Minister John Howard dominated the campaign
and attracted support to the Liberals at the expense of the Nationals.

Mr Anderson said this time round, country voters were switched on to the message of
the Nationals and their candidates.

"I do get this very strong impression that they are much more switched on to the value
of coalition representation in country seats ... than they were at the last election,"

he told reporters.

"We can simply put forward our commitment, our record, and the impression I have is
that they've got a very clear message, much clearer than last time, ... that we hold the
balance of power, we use it wisely, we use it sensibly.

"We use our balance of power quite wisely, and I think (it's) better recognised than
it was last time.

"We've been able to encourage and attract very real support in resources, in volunteers
and so forth for our seats and we're going after them, and a couple of Senate spots."

Mr Anderson said he believed the Nationals would not only keep the seats it has, but
improve by challenging in electorates such as Capricornia, New England, Kennedy and Calare.

He said the party was also in a good position to make ground in the Senate.

"We're aggressively going after more seats and more spots in the Senate," he said.

Mr Anderson said the government had helped country people survive the drought by driving
down interest rates and keeping inflation under control.

"I do not know how anyone would have pulled through in terms of the farm and small
business sector, the employers, those people who depend on economic circumstances for
their jobs in regional Australia would have survived with the sort of interest rates that
you automatically seem to get when the Labor Party's in power," he said.

Mr Anderson indicated the government may offer more to farmers affected by the creation
of water property rights.

AAP sw/cjh/jlw

KEYWORD: POLL04 NATIONALS

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