“I LOOK forward to being part of a revitalised Labor team in country NSW.”
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And, with that sentiment, Muswellbrook Shire mayor Martin Rush will hit the campaign trail as Country Labor’s candidate for the state seat of Upper Hunter at next year’s election.
“We have a team that has a progressive and equitable plan for rural and regional communities,” he said.
“Primary production and energy production in rural and regional NSW is critical to driving NSW economic growth.
“I have lived in country NSW my entire life.
“The Labor Party has many supporters in the bush and I believe it needs to reconnect with workers in the bush – many of whom helped forge the Labor movement.”
Mr Rush said he would fight against the sale of the local power stations.
“The National Party said it would oppose the sale of the poles and wires before the last state election and now they are in the process of selling these key assets,” he said.
“Make no mistake, the sale of poles and wires and the essential services they provide to private companies will have a devastating impact on rural and regional communities.
“It is also a fundamental breach of trust with the electorate.
“I will be fighting to stop The National Party dismantling government services in rural and regional NSW by cutting education, health, and emergency service budgets.
“The National Party is reviewing regional TAFE campuses with a view to closing a number of them, forcing young people to leave their families, support networks and communities to seek further education in larger coastal centres.”
Mr Rush said The National Party had proven they couldn’t be trusted in government.
“They promised to protect agricultural land and provide certainty for the future of the coal industry but, instead, it has increased uncertainty for landholders and the approval times for coal mining development has blown out to three-and-a-half years in some cases,” he said.
“At a time when employment in the mining and energy sector in the Upper Hunter is increasingly uncertain, it is absolutely imperative strategic land use planning is undertaken upfront to provide all industries investment and development certainty.”
Mr Rush is a barrister with degrees in economics and law from the University of Newcastle.
From 2000 to 2003, he worked as a solicitor in private practice – principally performing legally aided work on rural court circuits.
Since 2004, Mr Rush has practiced as a barrister in commercial, industrial and safety law.
The mayor of Muswellbrook for the past six years, he received almost 34 per cent of the primary vote in a 13-candidate race in the 2012 local government elections.
He has been a fierce advocate for a return of state government mineral royalties to the Hunter and particularly to the Upper Hunter, which accounts for 80 per cent of NSW’s coal production.