The latest redistribution of Victoria's largest federal seat has raised questions about adequate representation for those living in the far reaches of the electorate.
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Mallee is currently held by Nationals MP Anne Webster, whose main office is in Mildura.
Under the Australian Electoral Commission's latest redistribution, the electorate has been expanded to again take in Stawell, Great Western and Halls Gap.
Since 2018, the towns had been in Wannon, represented by federal Liberal MP Dan Tehan.
The AEC based its decision to expand Mallee on predictions of a 3.47 per cent drop in the seat's population.
Marlu livestock and crop producer Graeme Maher has three properties, at Lubeck, Warra and Mount Dryden.
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"I worry that we are going to struggle to get representation as the electorate spreads further and further," Mr Maher said.
As the Victorian Farmers Federation Wimmera branch president, he said he had unsuccessfully sought to set up a meeting with Ms Webster.
He said he had concerns about representation on the impact of climate change and telecommunications.
"When it comes to communications, anything further up the hill at Mount Dryden is fine, anything further down the hill is dead," he said.
"It is ridiculous that I sow everything to two-centimetre accuracy, but I can't make a phone call when sitting in the tractor cab - that's just mind boggling."
Dergholm sheep producer Murray Davis is 446 kilometres from Mildura.
Mr Davis said since Dergholm had been moved from Wannon to Mallee years ago, he hadn't felt heard.
"When I started ringing the office in Mildura, they didn't even know where Dergholm was," he said.
Mr Davis wrote to the AEC stating his objections, saying he felt no connection to the Mallee.
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"My family and I, along with most other people we know in the Dergholm area, primarily gravitate towards Casterton and Hamilton for business, work, educational and everyday living requirements," he told the AEC.
He said there would be no more than 100 voters in the area and they would be better off in Wannon.
Rupanyup farmer and former Yarriambiack shire mayor Ray Kingston stood as an independent in the last federal election.
"We know the population of Mallee is not going to get bigger," Mr Kingston said.
"The argument is only ever about what is the least stupid way of making the electorate bigger, rather than addressing the underlying issue - the challenge of rural population decline.
"But the AEC could definitely tidy up the recognition of how hard it is to service a seat like Mallee."
He said funding two electorate offices was "woefully inadequate".
Mr Kingston said coronavirus had shown Zoom technology was a viable alternative to getting out and about in person.
"The member needs to be really proactive, regularly engaging with all these little communities, dotted around the place through technology," he said.
He said the main issue was to try and reverse the population drain from the bush.
"Everything else is skirting around the edges," he said.
In his submission, political commentator Charles Richardson told the AEC transferring Stawell and Halls Gap from Wannon to Mallee resulted in a major imbalance between the two electorates.
Mallee would be 9.7pc above the quota and Wannon only 3.9pc above - a difference of more than 6000 electors.
"It is also geographically undesirable - Stawell and Ararat are closely related towns that belong together, and there are obvious advantages in having the whole of the Grampians in one division," Mr Richardson said.
He said lines of communication mostly ran from north-west to south-east, not north-east to south-west.
He suggested Mallee should take in Lexton and Waubra, with their 678 electors.
When the proposed boundaries were announced, Ms Webster welcomed the electorate's expansion.
"Because of the proximity of Stawell to Mallee, I've already been working closely with residents and stakeholders in that region and look forward to continue to advocate for all of Northern Grampians shire," she said.
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