"I will be getting out and about all the time, I want people to get sick of me," is what Tara Moriarty has vowed in her role as the new Minister for Agriculture, Regional NSW and Western NSW.
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"My voice will be heard in Sydney but I won't be doing the job from Sydney. I will be out and about to hear from people directly where they live and work," Ms Moriarty said in her first interview with The Land.
Describing herself a 'regional girl' growing up in Queanbeyan, Ms Moriarty said she would be a strong voice for the regions around the cabinet table and the government.
"We are a new government and we are really keen to work with everyone outside of Sydney," she said.
"It will be my job to facilitate that and make sure everyone's voices are represented."
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When asked how she planned to give regional and rural NSW a voice in Sydney with little Labor representation in the bush, she said: "I want to work with everybody ... whatever their political persuasion" and that her door was always open.
Ms Moriarty said she had already met with the departments and was heading to the Hunter Valley today to speak with beekeepers about Varroa mite and managing the biosecurity threat.
She commended the department on the "brilliant job" it had done in managing the Varroa mite threat.
"Biosecurity is the number one issue, it's something people are concerned about," she said.
"We need to deal with existing issues and be ready to what could potentially be on the horizon."
Ms Moriarty said she supported the national approach to the electronic identification tags for sheep and goats, the work that had been done so far and timeline that was developed by reference groups.
Ms Moriarty said she would be getting advice from the department on the best way to manage issues on producer subsides.
She also said given agriculture injected $23.1 billion to the state's economy it was important to "spruik" the industry.
"I don't know if everyone knows that," she said.
"But it will be my job to spruik the industry and make sure everyone has the opportunities through government to help it grow even more.
"The rest of the state needs to understand it's an innovative exciting industry ... it can be spruiked more."
Ms Moriarty has been in parliament in the Upper House since 2019.
Prior to that she had been working in trade unions as a trade secretary in the hospitality industry representing workers in pubs and clubs.
She has sat on a number of boards, including Think Tank and the McKell Institute, as well as chairing Club Plus Superannuation.
"I made the decision to live in regional NSW in this role as I'm a passionate supporter of it," she said.
"More people would do it if there were more opportunities available to people to live and work more effectively in regional NSW."
