The demise of agriculture is forcing other businesses out of towns, exaggerating the problem.

It is the role of state and federal governments to do what they can to decentralise NSW and stop the flow of people to Sydney before there is no one left living west of the Blue Mountains.

Today candidates for the seat of Dubbo have their say on population growth and we asked them what they would do to increase the population in the region, how they would stop the loss of young people to capital cities.

To attract more people to our region, we need to deliver the services, jobs and infrastructure they need to live here. I am confident the investments we have made over the last four years will make the Dubbo electorate an attractive option for people to consider moving to. We know we need to create more jobs, and I am a firm believer in the credo “if you build it they will come.” 

We are building the roads, hospitals and schools people need to consider establishing themselves here. We are also boosting the economy - NSW has come back to the top of the pile under the NSW Liberals & Nationals. 

Private enterprises and small businesses are recovering and showing confidence in their respective markets. We will continue to support them under our Regional Industries Investment Fund and Jobs Action Plan so more jobs growth is generated. 

It’s my job as a regional MP and Deputy Premier to promote the wonderful place that regional NSW is. 

I am confident in the next term of Government we will start seeing the fruits of our labours as more people look to the regions and all that they offer.

I believe there is further scope to grow the tourism sector for Dubbo and surrounding area. The growth in renewables is vastly untapped with the increase in technology and affordability of renewables. 

An area with great potential is the recycling of green-waste instead of going in to landfill. 

I would like to see every town with a bio-digester located to handle both the sewage effluent and green-waste. This not only drastically cuts landfill, but more importantly captures methane emissions which would be used for power generation, and also produce high quality composted fertiliser for not only council and town people’s gardens but farmers in surrounding areas. 

I believe that more of our essential foods like vegetables and meats should be grown and processed locally. This would provide employment for locals and give them a sense of worth knowing that the food the town people live on is grown and processed by them. Further employment would be generated by value adding industries supporting these enterprises.

A change in current legislation regarding the production of industrial hemp for human consumption would allow the growth of a whole new industry and the multitude of associated value adding businesses in the valley.

This is a great question. Population issues basically underpin almost every government service issue we deal with and population growth is the key to positioning Dubbo and the surrounding region as a place that can offer the best jobs, education, health services and so on. 

Encouraging new migrants to make Dubbo home is tremendously important and I sense much more room to expand on that given the friendly and welcoming nature of country people and the amazing space we can offer newly arrived people, many of whom come from crowded countries. Projects like Evocities are positive but ultimately it is jobs and opportunity that will bring people to the electorate. These will come from new industries that take advantage of our natural advantages and through businesses, government and individuals deciding our region is a place to be. Key to making the area attractive is dealing with the entrenched high crime rates and social problems we have and that will be a key focus of mine if elected. Dubbo needs to move on from its reputation as a hot spot of crime and disadvantage and realistically that will happen through addressing the underlying causes of these problems.

It is inevitable a certain proportion of young people from small towns will leave to pursue their dreams and aspirations elsewhere. The key is keeping as many as possible by offering jobs and futures at home and ensuring as many as possible come home after experiencing life elsewhere. This can only be done by small communities playing to their natural and community strengths. Wellington & Narromine are good examples in my view of small towns with a massive amount of potential that is yet to be realised.

Much of the population of NSW is concentrated in Sydney, Newcastle and Wollongong.

There are many problems in crowding more and more people into the Sydney basin - driving to Sydney and finding a car parking space will show anyone that.

NSW can invest large amounts of money in trying to fix those problems over the coming decades; or can invest some of those funds in its country towns and regional centres, which don’t have the congestion issues.

When elected, I will be working on the second solution. To do this we need jobs in our towns. 

One of the future industries for regional NSW is renewable energy - taking our sunlight, captured here, turning it into electricity and exporting it to Sydney through the existing electrical grid.

Land is cheaper in inland NSW, and its sunnier than the coast (which has more cloud). 

The Sydney population pays for its electricity, and we get the jobs, apprenticeships and investment out here.

Strengthening our educational opportunities is an important way to retain younger people in regional areas. Supporting TAFE and universities in regional centres, improving and extending their range of courses. 

I believe that regional NSW has a great future, if we can seize the opportunities before us.

► Every day until the NSW election on March 28, the Daily Liberal is quizzing the candidates for the seat of Dubbo on the big issues that will affect the region’s voters.

Community members can pinpoint the issues they believe all candidates should address in an email to mail.liberal@fairfaxmedia.com.au.

The Daily Liberal will be contacting new candidate - Independent Rod Pryor for his comments, and will run responses in a future edition.