17 Nov 2017 Gannawarra Times, Gannawarra (Letters) ALL local Members of Parliament work hard to get extra funding into their electorates so I was intrigued to read Labor Upper House MP Jaclyn Symes press release of May 19 this year stating that McFarlane Road Lake Charm is a key route connecting producers to processing and freight facilities in Echuca, Shepparton and beyond. I met with a group of farmers on site who didnt believe McFarlane Road was the best place to spend scarce road funding dollars. They wanted more information as to why this road, and not others, was funded. After obtaining the application under FOI more interesting questions arose, as the application claimed that consultation has been undertaken with affected stakeholders including the local community. The stakeholders I met say the first thing they knew of the funding was Ms Symes press release. The application justifies the upgrade to McFarlane Road by bundling together all the truck movement in the area stating 2250 B double vehicle movements during the coming 12 months, increasing to 3600 during the next five years. Given that one end of this project on McFarlane Road is still a dirt road, one wonders whether this number of truck movements will ever use McFarlane Road. I concur wholeheartedly with the local farmers who believe that the $42,000 of shire funding and $83,000 of State Government funds would have been better spent on one of the truly strategic roads in the shire that would benefit more of the community. Ms Symes press release shows a remarkable lack of understanding of her electorate and the road network in it. Peter Walsh MP, Leader of The Nationals, Member for Mur ray Plains. Caption Text: MS SYMES MR WALSH Licensed by Copyright Agency. You may only copy or communicate this work with a licence.