'Grumpy' voters in Murray Plains consider party allegiances as election looms

In the town of Kerang, located in the Murray Plains electorate of northern Victoria, voters are weighing their party allegiances as the state election approaches. Darren Connelly, a 60-year-old earthmoving operator and former president of the local racing club, has joined One Nation for the first time and is steadfast in his support for the party, regardless of the candidate.

Living in a town that has seen significant changes in the past 40 years, Connelly desires a return to the past and hopes to oust the current bureaucracy.

Kerang, situated a short distance from the NSW border, is a 200-kilometer stretch of the Murray River, home to Gannawarra Shire mayor Garner Smith, the One Nation candidate for Murray Plains. The local member of the seat, a retired Nationals MP, is retiring after 24 years and has expressed the desire to "turn the clock way back" and remove the "bloody bureaucracy."

Meanwhile, Swan Hill, another town in the Murray Plains electorate, is experiencing tension between the old guard and the new. John Forrest, a former long-serving Nationals MP, is on the committee of the Swan Hill Neighbourhood House and warns the newly elected One Nation candidate for Murray Plains, Brett Hosking, that he will face a challenge holding the seat. Forrest criticizes Hosking for not having his "chequebook open" and calls the meeting a "publicity stunt" for the ABC.

The neighbourhood house, which provides essential services to the community, is struggling due to a funding shortfall. Local farmers, including grain growers Ash and Bec Marshall, are concerned about the potential impact of renewable energy projects, such as wind turbines, on their properties. Both One Nation and the Coalition have pledged to scrap VNI West if elected in November, a decision that has been welcomed by the VFF but criticized by environmental groups for potentially increasing power bills.