Glen Hyde at the pre-poll station in Griffith. Photo: Oliver Jacques.
One of the bravest tasks in politics would have to be running for Labor in a staunchly conservative region in the bush.
Glen Hyde, 61, is taking up this challenge just 19 months after moving from Canberra to Tocumwal in the southern Riverina, a town where just 12 per cent of residents voted for Labor when they won government in 2022.
He’s aware that many people who live near him hate Labor, a party seen as unfriendly towards irrigation, the lifeblood of the area.
“People want to protect what they’ve got. They see someone who has been in the city for so long as a threat. I get that,” he said.
Mr Hyde is trying to make the case that his party is the best choice on what he sees as the two most important issues – health and education.
“We are stronger on these issues every day of the week,” he said.
“Without health, you can’t participate in life. Without education, your level of participation is limited. All my life, I’ve benefited from adult education and then became an adult educator.”
He also defended Labor’s economic record.
“This whole story that we can’t manage the economy is wrong; we’ve had two of the highest ranked treasurers in Australia in [Wayne] Swan and [Jim] Chalmers,” he said.
When asked at a recent Griffith election debate if he supported the federal Labor Government’s policy of buying back water from irrigators, he wasn’t afraid to give an answer that many in the crowd didn’t like.
“I’m neutral on water buybacks. The government has a policy … that was enacted in 2023, the government has put $3.2 billion into that plan … I support the policy and the legislation … we’ve got a review next year and whatever the recommendations are, I’ll support them,” he said.
Mr Hyde grew up in Wollongong, where he first ran his own business before moving to Canberra and progressing a four-decade career in the public service and as a union delegate.
“I couldn’t afford to retire in Canberra,” he said.
“My financial advisor said if you [retire] on your 60th birthday, you’ll have about $200,000 to spend on a house for your son and a $45,000 a year pension, but you’ll have to live in the country.
“I thought, ‘There are golf courses in the country’. Tocumwal is perfect and beautiful. It’s got a great golf course and everything else I want. I couldn’t afford to live by the ocean but I can afford to live by the Murray River.”
He says it’s time for change in Farrer, which has voted for a Coalition MP at every election since it was created in 1949.
“Sussan Ley has been the member here for longer than Menzies was prime minister,” he said.
But does he see himself as a realistic contender in one of the safest Liberal seats in Australia?
“The game plan is to get this seat to marginal. But there are miracles; if you look at Zed Seselja [who seemed to be a safe ACT Liberal senator until unseated by independent David Pocock]. The margin in Farrer is 16 per cent; we could get that down to 8 per cent,” he said.
“If the miracle happens and we get in, then I know my way around Canberra. I’ve been in more offices in Parliament House than most politicians, with the union, community council and sporting groups … I’ve got a lot of street cred.”
