IMPROVING skills, education and population in rural NSW was the focus for Country Labor at the ALP State Conference over the weekend.
The conference passed a motion for a policy called Building Stronger Country Communities, said Steve Whan, Labor's Primary Industries spokesman and candidate for Monaro in next year's State election.
Mr Whan said this policy was designed to improve the skills and eduction in rural communities via measures such as support for TAFEs, as well as a focus on infrastructure development.
Another focus was on putting structures in place to better allow rural NSW to speak for itself.
"The policy for rural NSW... is about trying to develop the capacity of local communities to tell us what they want," Mr Whan said.
Discussions about coal seam gas and fly-in-fly-out (FIFO) workers also generated debate at the conference, he said.
"With fly-in-fly-out, we want to look at the impact it has on communities."
Mr Whan said the ALP would look into ways to encourage FIFO workers to take up residence in the communities where they worked.
Mr Whan said issues for rural NSW would get more attention at the upcoming Country Labor conference, to be held in Queanbeyan in October.
"It's an opportunity to focus in more detail on country issues," he said.
Roderick Makim
Senior journalist for The Land.
Senior journalist for The Land.
