The Prime Minister went to the Bush Summit in Ballarat without taking on board the talking points I gave him in Parliament the week before. As a result, he was unprepared and farmers sent him packing in their tractors.

When I asked him in Question Time why he was run out of town, he dodged the question, pointed the finger at others, and even went so far as to call me a coward.

Our communities deserve straight answers, not excuses. It’s time the Prime Minister started listening to the people of Western Victoria.