Nationals MP Gurmesh Singh is proud of his farming background which he feels helped him get elected from the Mid North Coast seat of Coffs Harbour in NSW.
“I am very much familiar with the current issues of my electorate. As a businessman and farmer with experience in the tourism industry, I am keen to resolve what matters the most in my area,” he said in an interview with SBS Punjabi.
“I feel privileged to live in this beautiful part of the world. My focus is to protect local jobs and to strengthen the farming and tourism industry.”
Mr Singh's election came about after long-serving MP Andrew Fraser decided to retire after representing this seat since 1990.
“I want to continue in Andrew Fraser’s footsteps by being a strong local member who isn’t afraid to fight for our community on the big issues that will see our region remain strong,” he said.
Nationals MP Gurmesh Singh during his inaugural speech at the NSW Parliament. Source: Supplied
"Proud of my cultural heritage"
In his inaugural speech in NSW Parliament, Mr Singh said his journey to the parliament began over a century ago.
“I am proud of my heritage but, as members can clearly hear, I am Australian born and bred,” he said.
“My path to this Parliament started over 120 years ago with the decision made by my great-grandfather, Bella Singh, to leave Punjab with 13 other men from the surrounding villages to seek opportunity on the other side of the world in Australia.”
“I doubt that in his wildest dreams he would ever have imagined that his great-grandson would be standing here today, in the oldest Parliament in Australia, as the newly elected member for Coffs Harbour; the area where his son, my grandfather, Pritam Singh, chose to settle in the late 1940s.”
The Singh family in Woolgoolga near Coffs Harbour, NSW in 1962. Source: Supplied
From a farmer to the state parliament
A born-and-bred in Coffs Harbour, Mr Singh’s family has lived in the country for four generations.
The family has been growing bananas in Woolgoolga since the 1940s but made the transition to berries in 2001.
Having been a community leader for a number of years, Mr Singh believes that he always had the skills to be an effective Member of Parliament.
“I have been active in representing the farming community for a few years and I believe that I can take that experience and use it to represent the wider community at the Government," he said.
As a prominent blueberry grower, Mr Singh has also served as the chairman of Oz Group Co-Op – a farmer-owned co-operative with over 100 blueberry growers.
The Singh family has been growing berries since 2001. Source: Supplied
In the past few years, covering an area of 700 hectares of blueberry bushes, this Co-op has become one of the biggest blueberry suppliers in Australia.
He has been a member of the NSW Farmers’ horticulture committee and was on the advisory council for Primary Industries Minister Niall Blair.
Gurmesh Singh wants to follow the footsteps of retiring Coffs Harbour MP Andrew Fraser. Source: Supplied
His approach to tackle issues of his electorate
Coffs Harbour has the highest rates of youth unemployment in regional NSW and Mr Singh believes that the government needs to create more opportunities for the locals.
"We urgently need to foster and encourage business to grow here,” he said.
“We need to boost the local economy by encouraging more collaboration between the farming sector and the industry.”
“I’ve worked in various industries from marketing to design, as well as agriculture. I want to make sure that as our region grows, our smaller industries aren’t forgotten.”
Gurmesh Singh with his family in Coffs Harbour. Source: Supplied
Living in the region
As a third-generation Coffs local, Mr Singh is living with his wife, raising two young children in this area known for a booming farming sector and a tourist destination.
"My family has lived in the Coffs Harbour area since the 1940s and we believe very passionately that this is the greatest place to live in the world,” he said.
“Although farming and agriculture have been in my blood going back many generations, I was not exactly in love with the job when I was a boy.
“I was much more interested in just about anything else and would rather have spent my Saturdays playing cricket or footy. Instead, for me and the other children of banana growers, it was all bananas, bananas, bananas. It was enough to drive anyone bananas!”
Mr Singh mentioned in his inaugural parliament speech that the Coffs Harbour once famous for its bananas—a very big banana in fact—has encompassed a considerable growth.
'Coffs Harbour is a great place for amateur cyclists like me' — Gurmesh Singh MP. Source: Supplied
“Today it is a diverse and thriving region. We have a booming tourism industry and play host to major events, including a round of the FIA World Rally Championship and the Australian Ladies Classic Bonville,” he said.
“Our perfect climate means that we have families holidaying all year round and no trip is complete without a family photo in front of the Big Banana.
“We have a successful and growing agricultural sector, with horticulture, beef, dairy, forestry and fisheries all represented. Recent developments in the innovation and digital space are creating exciting new opportunities.”
Video - Punjabi pioneers revolutionise blueberry farming in Australia
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