New Regional NSW Department set up

The DPIE’s coordinator general of Regional NSW Gary Banes will head a new Department of Regional NSW established to coordinate support for communities, businesses and farmers hit by a triple whammy of bushfires, floods and COVID-19.

John Barilaro

The department will bring together the divisions of Primary Industries, Local Land Services, Resources and Geoscience to form a central agency dedicated to regional issues, regional NSW minister John Barilaro says.

“We are urgently responding to the desperate needs of people in the regions and this new agency will work to ensure community wellbeing, resilient economies and strong key regional industries,” he said in a statement.

“We know that the issues faced by the people of Cootamundra are very different to those faced in Coogee and so it is imperative we have a government designed to properly support every corner of this state.

Mr Barillaro says the department will also provide a voice in government for people in the bush as well as streamlining regional issues and bringing together experts in primary industries, land management, resources, regional development, drought response and bushfire recovery.

The new department’s first job will be the delivery of recent bushfire and COVID-19 stimulus and industry recovery packages as well as drought initiatives.

It will also oversee the $1.7 billion Regional Growth Fund and $4.2 billion Snowy Hydro Legacy Fund.

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