Nursing and midwifery graduates are an integral part of our workforce and will go on to make a huge difference in the lives of local patients and their families.

Over a quarter of the 2019 graduate nurses and midwives will start their careers in rural and regional locations across NSW.

The commitment and compassion of our nurses and midwives, combined with their outstanding clinical skills, significantly contribute to the health and wellbeing of the people in Barwon.

I can’t thank our new graduates enough for choosing a career in caring for the sick and vulnerable in our community.

The NSW Liberals and Nationals have boosted the nursing and midwifery workforce by almost 20 per cent to 51,890 while in Government, and the number of doctors has soared 35 per cent to 12,100 – huge increases compared to the workforce under Labor. In total 16,000 extra frontline health staff have been employed since 2011, up 23 per cent on Labor.

The new investment will fund targeted areas of services and workforce including:

The NSW Nationals in Government will offer even more support for hard working farmers across NSW when it comes to fighting for their legal rights, through the creation of an Agriculture Commissioner.

This new appointment, part of the NSW Nationals’ Standing Up for Farmers scheme, will work with the Office of the Small Business Commissioner to support farmers, small timber operators and agricultural processors whenever regional ‘lawfare’ is used  to threaten their right to farm.

The Commissioner will also work alongside planning authorities to strengthen standards development and zoning methods and make recommendations to government to ensure our farmers are always protected.

The NSW Nationals know that working in the agriculture sector is tough enough – the regular confrontation of increased regulation, tough seasonal conditions and the growing market power of major corporates.

Farmers are the backbone of our regional communities, and when they feel empowered through this additional new support, so will the rest of their community.

We will be the voice and create the noise for farmers when their rights are being questioned – we are standing up for farmers.”

I am thrilled to announce Brewarrina Aboriginal Corporation as one of the recipients of the NSW Government’s Creative Koori funding aimed at boosting the vibrant Aboriginal arts and cultural sector in the State.

Brewarrina Aboriginal Corporation will receive $72,840 in funding to employ an Aboriginal Curator or Tour Guide who will work with the community and Brewarrina Aboriginal Cultural Museum Trust (BACM) to become a sustainable source of independent employment encompassing Arts and Culture for the younger generation of the Brewarrina Community

This is brilliant news for our region and I’m very excited to see our strong arts organisations and cultural workers receive this support from the NSW Government.