LEETON shire's two political sitting representatives may be on the opposite side of the fence when it comes to politics, but both agree recent job cuts in the shire are devastating.
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Both Member for Murray Helen Dalton and Member for Farrer Sussan Ley have spoken out about last week's decision by Murrumbidgee Irrigation to close down its mechanical workshop in Leeton, with four jobs expected to go as a result.
The company said the decision to close the workshop was part of a restructure process.
Mrs Dalton was disappointed jobs were lost as part of this process.
"It's devastating," she said. "This is really poor timing, the last thing the town needs.
"This is still very significant as the community has already lost rice mill jobs and they're about lose their Target store (in 2021)."
MI general manager of operations Alan Shea said the changes would reposition the operations team to "realise the full benefits of our investments in modernising and automating our infrastructure so that we can continue to deliver water to our customers in the best way possible".
The Australian Workers' Union has also expressed its dismay at the job losses, saying affected staff were "blind-sided" by the announcement.
Ms Ley said any form of job loss in a community the size of Leeton was always concerning.
"Any job loss in a small town hits hard," she said.
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"I understand MI is restructuring their operations ... the big issue for governance at both a federal and state level is to keep building activity, regional jobs and obviously irrigation water secure.
"I worry every time I see a downturn in the regional sector, but I also know the community of Leeton is strong.
"It is known for its resilience."
The job losses at MI follow a large number being lost at SunRice's milling operations in Leeton over the past 12 months, with several positions also going at Berri in 2019.
Mrs Dalton called on MI to make sure affected staff were being looked after. "I hope MI are giving them counselling and helping them find new jobs," she said.
"MI need to do better when it comes to consultation and transparency. There's a real lack of oversight when it comes to private irrigation companies.
"People who have legitimate complaint feel they have nowhere to go.
"The NSW government need to empower one of their many water agencies to be able to investigate complaints, publish their findings and impose penalties."
