President of the NSW Farmer’s Association and Bundella farmer Fiona Simson has been appointed to fill a casual vacancy on the National Roads & Motorists’ Association Board.
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Ms Simson will take up the casual vacancy role to replace outgoing Director Graham Blight, who will reach his 12-year Board limit early next year.
The announcement of Ms Simsons’ appointment coincided with an NRMA Board meeting in Parkes on Wednesday.
Ms Simson will represent the NRMA Board region of Townsend, which covers regional NSW west of the Great Dividing Range.
The casual appointment will end late 2015 when all board positions – including Ms Simson’s, become vacant for the 2015 NRMA Board election.
Ms Simson said her new role as NRMA Director for western NSW would enable her to fight passionately to deliver positive outcomes for regional NSW in infrastructure, road safety and fuel prices.
“Most regional highways are deteriorating and require increased Government funding, regional NSW continues to be exposed to high and volatile fuel prices, there is a backlog of road funding for regional councils and we must continue to ensure licensing laws don’t disadvantage older and younger drivers in the bush,” she said.
News Release
Mr Blight first joined the NRMA Board in 2003 after an extensive career in farming and representing
Australia’s farming interests as President of both the National and World Farmers Federations.
As Director for the region of Townsend, which is geographically larger than Western Europe, Mr Blight has
spent years touring regional communities and fighting on behalf of NRMA Members across western NSW.
In 2009 Mr Blight led the NRMA’s successful grassroots campaign to revoke the NSW Government’s decision
to arbitrarily drop the speed limit on the Newell Highway. He also successfully campaigned to get the Newell
highway upgraded, which led to the road falling out of the annual Seeing Red on Roads’ top five worst roads
in regional NSW for the first time in four years.
Mr Blight succeeded in lobbying for a full upgrade of the Hume Highway and funding to improve the Great Western Highway.
He has also led the NRMA’s push to secure Australia’s fuel security, culminating in the Senate voting for an
inquiry into the issue this year.
Mr Blight said Fiona Simson’s appointment followed an extensive recruitment process, which involved
assistance from an independent recruitment firm.
“I will always be an NRMA man at heart and leaving this Mutual, which I love, is not easy,” Mr Blight said.
“It has been made easier by the fact that we have found such an outstanding replacement in Fiona Simson.
Fiona brings to the role a unique understanding of the challenges facing western NSW communities because
she’s lived through those challenges, both as a farmer and as the head of a body that represents them.
“She’s an articulate advocate and an unwavering community campaigner – she’ll do a great job.”
Editor’s note: The NRMA board meeting will be held at the Council Chambers, Parkes Shire Council, 2 Cecil
Street Parkes, from 9:30am on Wednesday 29 October 2014.
Contact: Peter Khoury 0439 133 115
