AN extra 500 paramedics for regional areas, the lifting of pay caps for teachers, nurses and medical staff, and a doubling of the rural and regional NSW roads repair budget are among Labor’s policy platforms for regional NSW and the seat of Murray ahead of the March 25 election.
Labor candidate for Murray Max Buljubasic said the party’s plans and policies were for all communities, not favouring one side of the electorate over the other.
“There is no difference between a pothole in Griffith and Deni than there is in Wentworth or Dareton,” Mr Buljubasic said.
“Hence we have made a commitment to rural and regional roads of $197 million of new money into the new emergency road repair Fund.
“Labor have made major funding announcements for the whole of NSW, as part of those announcements, the Wentworth and Balranald shires are certainly included.”
The party is confident that the promised creation of an independent biosecurity commission will benefit the state’s agriculture sector.
“Labor’s biosecurity commissioner will be able to report on the adequacy of the state’s biosecurity efforts and recommend strategies and programs to improve biosecurity responses, and raise awareness of the threat of biosecurity, weeds, and pests,” Mr Buljubasic said.
Other pledges are to advocate for more public service jobs to be moved to regional NSW, including the Murray electorate, to see more investment in public education, health and social services across rural and regional NSW, to shift 10,000 temporary teaching positions into permanent roles, and to hire an additional 600 Fire and Rescue NSW firefighters over the next eight years.
The party is also committing $5 million to engage in a year-long consultation with First Nations communities on a treaty process for New South Wales.
Mr Buljubasic is making his second bid for the seat of Murray, after he ran for the Country Labor Party in 2015
He has been living in Griffith since 1993, he has two children and works in the poultry industry.
More policy information can be found at www.laborformurray.com.
