Senator Doug Cameron was reacting to conjecture Senator McKenzie will stand in Indi off the back of moving her office to Wodonga.

“This is a National Party member who has lived in inner-city Melbourne for the bulk of her time in the Senate and suddenly sees an opportunity in Indi and wants to try and indicate to people that she’s a real regional person by moving her office here,” Senator Cameron said while at the Blazing Stump hotel for a fundraiser to assist Benambra Labor candidate Mark Tait.

“I’ve known Bridget McKenzie for a long time, as long as she’s been in the Senate and I don’t think that she brings anything of intellectual substance.

“I don’t think she brings any political policies.

“I don’t think she brings any ideas for the local community, she doesn’t know the local community.

“Why would you reward her with a seat in Indi when you’ve got other people that have actually lived in the community, know the community, understand the problems that the community have.”

Senator Cameron did not know when Labor would announce its Indi candidate, having already unveiled contenders for the seats of Farrer and Riverina.

“We would love to be able to win in Indi, so we will put a candidate in and we will raise the issues with the local community that resonate with them, on health, on education, on housing and homelessness, on the TAFE system, on vocational training and on universities,” he said.

The Opposition’s spokesman for skills, TAFE and apprenticeships met with vocational teachers on Friday.

Senator Cameron said if elected Labor would conduct a major review of post school education with the aim of improving training access, particularly in regional areas.

He queries the value of TAFE hubs, such as the one built at Corowa, to provide online access to tuition.

“I’m not a fan of these hubs, because wherever these hubs have been introduced we’ve found that TAFE jobs have disappeared in the main TAFE delivery area,” Senator Cameron said.

“Within the first 100 days of coming to government we will conduct the first major review for 40 years….into the VET system, into TAFE and into universities as to how we can make them work better together and in regional areas like this a kid doesn’t have to leave the town to get proper training.”