Though passed by a margin of three, Mrs Dalton was incensed by her former party’s apathy on what has been a key issue for the Murray electorate, especially in recent years.
‘‘I hate hypocrisy; politics for me has always been about the people — not the party,’’ Mrs Dalton said.
‘‘At any time, they could have told me about their decision, in fact (party leader) Robert Borsak and his colleague Mark Banasiak gave me their word they would vote in favour of the disallowance.’’
Mrs Dalton, a member of the Lower House, recalled watching the vote on television.
‘‘I was shocked at their decision,’’ she later said.
‘‘They betrayed me, and they betrayed my electorate.’’
The about face was the final straw for Mrs Dalton, who revealed discontent with the party for at least two years.
‘‘Really I’d describe them as autocratic. For years I have criticised the Nationals for toeing the party line and I cannot sit idly by while I get made to do the same,” she said.
Now an independent, Mrs Dalton will remain a sitting member of the Lower House, and assured constituents that she would continue to advocate on their behalf.
Mrs Dalton has not ruled out contesting the seat of Farrer in the upcoming federal election, claiming that any decision she makes would be made in the best interest of her constituents.
‘‘Honestly being a member of the party has done nothing but hold me back,’’ she said.
‘‘I have been asked to restrict my comments in the past when it comes to water advocacy, all because Roy Butler (an SFF Member for the northern NSW electorate of Barwon) disagrees with what I have to say.
‘‘And as the party’s only female member, I have been met with nothing but deaf ears in the party room.’’
News of Mrs Dalton’s departure was first announced in an SFF press release, circulated by Mr Borsak late on Thursday.
Dismissed as ‘‘a wonderful piece of creative writing’’ by Mrs Dalton, the statement included several remarks critical of the former party member and breathed new air into allegations first levelled by former water minister Melinda Pavey in August last year.
The allegation concerns the sale of water to ‘large companies’ of which Mrs Dalton had, and continues to be, critical.
Though admitting the practice was ‘‘fully legal’’, Mr Borsak claimed that engaging in water trading had made Mrs Dalton’s position within the party ‘‘untenable’’.
In doing so, he recontextualised Mrs Dalton’s resignation; insinuating that she had not resigned from the SFF — as she claims — but been forced out.
‘‘It is untenable and goes against the principles of the party to use parliamentary privilege to pursue your personal and commercial interests. Your constituency comes first, second and last in parliament — nothing else,” Mr Borsak said.
Mrs Dalton does not deny trading water, arguing that the practice is a given among farmers and does not constitute a conflict of interest, as suggested by the SFF.
Mr Borsak also suggested Mrs Dalton had made ‘‘hidden deals’’ with independent MLC Justin Field, and the Greens party.
‘‘Under the guise of supporting farmers and southern irrigators, and unknowingly to the party, Helen continued to make hidden deals with Justin Fields and the Greens party over the past three years for environmental water to flow further south into South Australia,’’ Mr Borsak said.
The statement concluded with a pledge to contest the 2023 state election for Murray, with a candidate to be announced in ‘due course’.
Mrs Dalton said she was ‘‘disappointed but not surprised’’ that the party had engaged in an ‘‘underhanded smear campaign’’ against her.
‘‘I’m not really concerned with it,’’ she explained.
‘‘I think voters will see my record and know that I stand with them, and I don’t think these kind of smear tactics will go down well with people in Murray.
‘‘Really, me leaving, it’s a blow for them (SFF) and I didn’t expect they’d take it well.’’
Mrs Dalton confirmed that her offices in Griffith and Deniliquin, which are funded by parliamentary entitlements, will remain open.
However, her digital real estate — a Facebook page with about 27,000 followers — was swiftly deleted by the party.
The page was wiped sometime between Mrs Dalton informally advising key party members of her resignation, and officially notifying parliament.
A request to restore the page, filed on Mrs Dalton’s behalf, has since been lodged with Facebook’s parent company Meta.
Meta has since approved the request and restored access to the page.
