THE votes are in and the Riverina Local Land Services (LLS) board will be made up of a mix of old and new.
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From 13 candidates three new people were voted onto the board by fellow ratepayers.
John Davey of Ariah Park and Helen Dalton of Binya were both reelected and Collingullie farmer and Wagga City Councillor Paul Funnell will join them as a newly appointed board member.
Mr Funnell who is an executive member of the Murray Darling Basin Authority has plans to hold the LLS to account on a number of issues.
He says biosecurity is paramount in protecting the agricultural sector.
And while there have been plenty of whispers about where revenue from the, now defunct, Rural Land Protection Board assets may end up Mr Funnell plans to lobby that those funds are injected into agricultural projects.
“There is a number of big issues, and we represent such a diverse area from the west to the east,” he said.
Keeping the lines of communication open between landholders and the LLS and being a conduit was a priority too.
“I am very please, and shocked … to have been elected, it was a magnificent list of candidates,” he said.
Meanwhile, the Riverina is just one section of the LLS and a total of 34 people were elected from 100 candidates.
These candidates join the 44 government-appointed LLS board members and chairpersons picked by Minister for Primary Industry, Niall Blair earlier in the year.
They include six women and 18 board members who were elected to local boards in the first LLS elections in 2014.
LLS chair of chairs Richard Bull said the newly elected board members would work with the appointed chairs and board members to focus on the strategic direction.
And the aim was to promote the services offered, encourage partnerships and build strong relationships with investors.