Tony Mileto loves nothing more than delivering on promises for regional communities.
As someone who’s called the Central West home since I was 12, I want to ensure young people living in regional NSW can look to a future filled with endless opportunity. Not despite the fact they live in the regions, but because of it.
That’s why, four years ago, the NSW Nationals appointed a dedicated Minister for Regional Youth and set up a youth taskforce to inject young voices from the bush into government decision-making.
It’s why we asked 2,000 young people from the regions about what mattered to them and created a $40 million fund to invest in their ideas.
No young person in the regions should have to leave their home community because there are no high-tech or high-paying jobs there.
It’s why we’re helping regional businesses grow, and why we’re attracting interstate and international businesses to relocate to the bush.
We’re offering real help – like rebates for energy bills and tools to make sure you’re getting the best possible deal, subsidised training to help you get the job you want, and vouchers for those with young families to help with extra costs like school and sport.
There is always more to do, but we have seen a 60 per-cent reduction in regional youth suicide from 2019 to 2022. As a former police officer who worked as a police/student liaison officer in Forbes and who continued that role with the PCYC in Orange, I know the importance of giving our young people a hand. It’s why I undertook community work in the fields of mental health and suicide prevention.
Only The Nationals are committed to putting regional people first – from their first steps to their first job and onwards.
Before you vote in the Central West on March 25, consider which party is there for you.