State Government to convene regional advisory group

THE Premier and Minister for Regional NSW will convene an advisory group to address the challenges faced by people living and working in regional, rural and remote areas of the state.

Announced at the 2025 Bush Summit, the NSW Premier’s “Rural, Remote & Regional Advisory Council” (PRRRAC) will meet twice annually with Premier Chris Minns and Minister Tara Moriarty.

The first council meeting is set to take place this year and will bring together representatives from across the regions to provide direct advice and insights on issues impacting their communities, from essential services and key infrastructure to biosecurity.

An invitation has been extended to NSW Country Mayor’s Association Chair Rick Firman, the Chair of NSW Regional Cities, and representatives from the Local Land Services, Country Women’s Association, regional health and education sectors, Indigenous councils, and business communities.

“We want to work with regional communities to find solutions that really meet their needs and will make a difference,” Premier Minns said.

“We are committed to delivering regional communities their fair share and this group means we can ensure our responses are targeted, effective and inline with the realities of regional life.”

Chair of the Country Mayors Association and Mayor of Temora, Rick Firman said “only positive things can come from this initiative”.

“Premier Minns was receptive to the proposal when we put this to him personally,” he said.

“We will share the challenges with suggested solutions, we will have government policy proposals bounced off us and give genuine feedback and we will also share the countless inspiring initiatives that occur in our cherished rural, remote and regional communities which may be replicated across our great state.”

The Country Women’s Association (CWA) of NSW President Tanya Jolly said the advisory panel is a “step in the right direction”.

“We welcome the chance to be part of this group to put forward the issues our members are telling us are impacting their communities and the quality of life of residents in those areas,” she said.

“But it needs to be more than just words – we have to see the insights this group is providing be taken forward by the NSW Government and acted on.

“And the issues from our perspective are very clear.”

Ms Jolly said the CWA would be highlighting the declining level of health services in many areas, land use and planning regulations, lack of affordable housing and the state of telecommunications.

“What we hear often is that so many country residents feel like they’re not being listened to by government and their concerns are being relegated to the ‘too hard’ basket.

“In 2025 our regions deserve better, and the people who live there should be able to expect reasonable access to quality services, and workable infrastructure,” Ms Jolly said.