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WE’RE reporting live from Broken Hill as the NSW Nationals’ conference rolls into day two.
Delegates will vote on a range of motions today, including whether to ban unvaccinated children from preschools and daycare and whether the Federal government should introduce an Emissions Intensity Scheme.
More than 300 grassroots Nationals members are in the Silver City this weekend to touch base with party leaders and MPs, see the sights, and vote on what the party should adopt as policy.
The conference will be the last hurrah for veteran Nat MLC Duncan Gay, who announced his retirement on Thursday, while Premier Gladys Berejiklian is set to be the first state Liberal leader in more than two decades to address the conference.
The Land will be running a live blog here and bringing you updates on all the juicy stuff over the weekend.
In an interview with our senior journalist John Ellicott this week, Deputy Premier John Barilaro spoke of the party’s intent to better its listening skills and regain trust in the bush, indicating the bruises of the Orange by-election disaster are still tender.
Mr Barilaro also promised a state budget that would ‘turbocharge’ regional centres.
In other conference news, a motion from the NSW Young Nationals could see an emissions intensity scheme become official state party policy, which would represent a split from the federal leadership.
Highlights from day one:
The conference has backed a Royal Commission into banking.
The conference voted in favour of the Women’s Council to support a royal commission into white collar crime that encompasses: The banking system in Australia, the tie between industry super funds and the union movement, ponzi schemes, and phoenixing.
Premier Gladys Berejiklian welcomed debate on a NSW Nationals idea to bring nuclear power to NSW, but says the jury’s out as far as her personal views go.
In Broken Hill for the 2017 NSW Nationals conference, Mr Barilaro used his address this morning to float the idea of bringing nuclear energy to the state, and also expanding the state’s gas reservation “in the right parts of the state”.
Follow the action from the conference here:
You can check out the complete conference agenda below: