Foley: A populist or pariah?

Leader Luke Foley's policy platform contains mixed messages for the agricultural community and it is yet to be seen if he will win votes as a populist, or go down as a pariah.

Mr Foley said at the Country Labor campaign launch on March 11 that regional NSW loomed large in the party's plans to form government.

"We have never formed a government, and we never will form a government in NSW, without winning seats in the country," he said.

Mr Foley made a series of bold announcements in his campaign, going hard on coal seam gas (CSG) development, but also strongly supporting the most unpopular measures in the bush from the Carr Labor government - native vegetation laws and national parks.

The party has outflanked the Coalition in The Nationals' stronghold in the Northern Rivers, declaring it would ban CSG in the region if it formed government.

The policy could go a long way to securing three of the Nats' electorates where opposition to gas is strongest: Lismore, Ballina and Tweed.

Labor also declared Santos' controversial CSG project in the Pilliga dead in the water if it formed government.

Mr Foley's Pilliga veto is likely to win some votes in the Barwon electorate held by Kevin Humphries, which under redrawn electoral boundaries now includes for the first time the Labor-leaning Broken Hill with traditional Nats strongholds of Moree and Narrabri.

"Communities in our state's north west have made their opposition to coal seam gas in the Pilliga clear," Mr Foley said.

"Labor has listened and will protect the Pilliga Forest from CSG because the risks CSG poses to the natural assets of the Pilliga, particularly the underground water storages, are unacceptable."

However, Mr Foley praised a policy that is perhaps the most contentious for farmers in this election.

"Labor is proud of the historic native vegetation laws we introduced during our time in government," he said.

"Labor governments have shown we can protect the environment and spur economic growth at the same time."

National Parks are also a boon to regional economies, Mr Foley said.

Labor added "more than three million hectares of national parks" the last time it was in power ('Native veg down to wire', February 19, page 3).

"We will build on this record and will commit at least $150 million over four years towards establishing new national parks," Mr Foley said.

Top priority is a Great Koala National Park on the state's North Coast, combining about 170,000ha of state forest with 140,000ha of national park to form a 315,000ha koala reserve, stretching east from the Macleay River, near Kempsey, to Woolgoolga, on the coast.

Mr Foley dismissed fears locking up land would reduce productivity.

"Labor governments have proven we don't have to choose between economic growth and environmental protection.

"National Parks can offer new opportunities in tourism industry for small towns across NSW."

Mr Foley said Labor's drought policy would see it reintroduce stock and fodder subsidies as well as drought declarations.

Labor would also repeal the government's Smart and Skilled TAFE reform and would not force council amalgamations.

He put $1.5 million on the table and committed to double the number of rural support workers, pledged a $20 million extension of funding for water infrastructure grants and said he would lobby the federal government to relax eligibility criteria for income support.

Labor has also committed to a review of higher education and training and said it would dismantle the government's Smart and Skilled reforms to the TAFE system.

Mr Foley said his government would develop a dairy export plan for NSW producers to tap the Asian market.

He said there would "not be any forced amalgamations" of local councils under his government.