Farrer Liberal MP Sussan Ley has hit back hard at her water critics

Ms Ley was one of the eight of the nine Farrer candidates who took part in The Border Mail forum.

"Water is the number one issue in my electorate - it always has been," Ms Ley said.

"But I'm not looking any irrigator in the eye and telling them I can solve their problems, at a stroke of a pen, because we all know it's not that simple."

She was asked by Oaklands potato and cereal grower Geoff Moar why she hadn't done anything to protect irrigators.

"We've got this whole election, over water, happening here, because of your inaction." Mr Moar said.

Barooga irrigator Carly Marriott said it might be time for Ms Ley to move aside, to let someone else get more effective results.

"Working hard is not getting the results we need, as irrrigated farmers," Ms Marriott said.

Ms Ley hit back at Mr Moar and Ms Marriott, saying they should declare their interests, in backing the Voices for Farrer group, which was supporting independent candidate Kevin Mack.

She said Ms Marriott should acknowledge her father Colin Brooks had financially supported Voices for Farrer.

And she said Mr Moar should declare he was a founding member of the group. .

"I reject the premise of your question that I have not been working hard for people I represent, totally reject it," Ms Ley said.

"I can give you chapter and verse of all the things I have done."

She said if there was no Basin Plan, general security allocations in NSW would have also been on zero.

"Allocations are done by the states, based on inflows and the numbers of entitlements.

"I am very critical of the Basin Plan - I say its flawed, I say we need water to come from the environment to the farmers," she said.

She said the only thing that had changed, since the introduction of the Basin Plan, was the Commonwealth Environmental Water Holder had been given entitlements.

"But they, like the general security water entitlements, are currently at zero - so it makes no difference."

She said had instituted the buy-back cap, the strong socio-economic neutrality test and the "environmental water" proposal, to release water from the environment to irrigators.

"When I put up that proposal last year, where were you?," Ms Ley said.

"Did you come did you come out of the woodwork to support it?"

Questioned by one forum participant over her support for Queensland MP Peter Dutton, in last year's Prime Ministerial spill, she said he was a friend.

"He's actually a good person, and I am very proud to say he's a mate of mine," Ms Ley said.

She said she divided those around the Cabinet table into those who "got" water, and those who didn't.

"Peter Dutton gets water, so does the Prime Minister," Ms Ley said.

"To have champions at the table has always been of vital importance to me."

out of the woodwork to support it? ," Ms Ley said.

"Did you bang on the table of any government minister, did you come and see people and say to the State Ministers, please support Sussan's environmental borrow proposal?

"I don't think you did."

Ms Ley said she fought for what she believed in, because those who stood for nothing, were no-one in Federal Parliament.

"I wake up wanting to fight the fight, for all of you - fighting the fight on water, in this home of irrigated agriculture, fighting the fight for the small businesses, because they are the fabric, the touchstone, the heart of every community."

She accused Mr Mack of joining with 14 other 'climate' independents, running against coalition candidates on a climate change agenda.

"Its actually about returning more water to the environment, and less water for farmers, and that is a real concern," Ms Ley said.

Mr Mack dismissed a campaign from a group called Irrigators for Farrer, which was urging voters to put him last on election day.

The campaign alleged the vote for Mr Mack was a vote for the Labor Party.

"The Irrigators for Farrer were about five people, at the last count, it's not as strong as the Judean People's Front," he quipped, referencing the Monty Python movie 'Life of Brian.'.

"We support Pausing the Plan, we support a Royal Commission into this water fiasco, our farmers, in Farrer, are struggling, our irrigators are struggling.

"There is a lot of discussion going on in the last six weeks and I've been referred to as the 'water member', and I'm quite proud of that because it means I am actually standing for something."

The electorate of Farrer had focused national attention on the issue of water.

Forum participants asked a range of questions, on issues such as mental and physical health, road funding, Labor's tax plans and small business.

Two farmers also asked Ms Ley about plans for solar farms, in Farrer.