Minister for Western NSW Tara Moriarty wants to change regional perceptions on Labor

"I hate that perception and it will be my job to change that," she told the Daily Liberal.

"And the best way for me to do that is to be in western NSW engaging directly with people where they live and work. People will see me out and about, it's not a job I'll be doing from Sydney, I will be in western NSW hearing and working directly with the communities across the region."

Over the next month, minister Moriarty says she will begin visiting communities in the region and meeting up with local MPs including member for Dubbo Dugald Saunders - who served as Minister for Western NSW in the Dominic Perrottet government - and independent member for Barwon Roy Butler.

"I'm going to be working really closely with them, they're the local representatives in their communities and it's something I take very seriously - so I will be working really closely with them on what they tell me each of their communities need," she said.

While minister Moriarty doesn't share a party with many of the MPs representing regional NSW, she said she's keen to put the interests of communities above party politics.

"My job is to act in the interests of regional NSW and western NSW so it doesn't matter to me how people voted, or what their politics are," she said.

"I'll be particularly working with the independents as they have very big responsibilities for very important areas of the state and they're doing it on their own. So there's a role for our government to work with them to make sure that their communities get full access to all the information and support they need from us.

"And the same thing goes for the opposition. There's a lot of issues and opportunities that are above politics and I've got no plans to play politics with issues that are affecting the communities."

Ms Moriarty has been a member of the New South Wales Legislative Council since 2019 and was sworn in as Labor's pick for Minister for Western NSW, Minister for Agriculture and Minister for Regional NSW after Labor's May election victory.

During her time in opposition, she has served as Shadow Minister for Mental Health and Crown Lands and Minister for Corrections, Juvenile Justice and Medical Research.

She said, as part of these roles, she visited western NSW so is "very familiar with" the region and the issues it faces.

"I know it has lots of very diverse communities with different issues but there's also some common themes - one is that we have to improve access to basic services," she said.

"First, making sure we have better access to health care - I'll be working with the regional health minister to make sure the recommendations from the regional health inquiry are implemented.

"Education is another - there's a huge issue with teacher shortages across the state but it mostly affects people in western NSW and across the regions. So it will be one of my priorities to make sure I'm working with my colleague in education to address that."

In the lead up to the state election, new health minister Ryan Park promised - if Labor formed government - to implement all of the recommendations of last year's scathing Upper House inquiry into regional health care. He also said a Labor government would employ an additional 1,200 nurses and midwives and 500 paramedics.

Ms Moriarty noted other priorities for the region over this term of government include increasing opportunities for further education and access to "good jobs".

"In the long term it's about making sure there's a big future for people living and working in western NSW and my job is to help support and facilitate that," she said.

Hailing from Queanbeyan herself, Ms Moriarty says she understands the need for a strong voice for the regions in the government.

"I know that's not in western NSW but it means I have an understanding of what it means to live in regional NSW and I think it's essential that regional NSW and particularly western NSW has a big voice inside the government," she said.

"Geography shouldn't affect the attention that the community gets from the government and it'll be my job to make sure that's maintained and I'm really excited about it.

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