INDEPENDENT candidate for Upper Hunter Tracy Norman is worried about the major parties ignoring the real issues in the electorate while they go after the coal miners' votes in the lead up to the May 22 by-election.
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The former Dungog mayor and daughter of Harvey Norman co-founder Ian Norman said there needs to be more talk about transitioning to other industries to secure long-term employment opportunities for coal miners.
"Coal has a limited shelf-life and the world trend is away from coal use and we need to be ready for when that happens otherwise our coal miners are going to be left high and dry," she said.
"We have a golden opportunity at the moment to be looking at other industries and other work to keep these coal miners and their families in the area and keep the strong economy."
The Upper Hunter is an extremely diverse economy, and other industries are being left behind without considering the region's long term future, according to Ms Norman.
"I think that manufacturing holds a great promise, I'd like to see manufacturing using circular economy type models and using what is now in the waste stream to divert that to creating other products and there's a lot of work being done in that space at the moment," she said.
"I think different energy sources can be looked at within that scope as well, and other important industries within the Upper Hunter, we are a diverse economy.
"However, the coal miners are incredibly important, I think we need to make sure that we are transitioning them but we need to consider other economic and social issues facing the Upper Hunter."
The 56-year-old has lived at Salisbury in the upper end of the Dungog shire since 2003, and has a background in hospitality and agriculture outside of her two and half years as mayor of Dungog.
She resigned as mayor in February 2020, telling the Dungog Chronicle at the time she was standing down because "decisions are being made that are not in the best interest of ratepayers and residents".
"I have a few businesses in town and my interest lies in agriculture and regenerative agriculture," she told The Singleton Argus.
"We've got a 3000 acre property here which at the moment we're building up to be a mixed agricultural enterprise with beef, sheep and just starting to get a commercial vegetable garden going within the Dungog shire as well."
She also wants to see connectivity throughout the electorate improved, with transport and telecommunications being among two of her biggest concerns for the Upper Hunter.
"Internet black-spots are a major issue. Smart agriculture needs to be part of the mix but without great internet and telecommunications it's just not possible," she said.
"The other part of connectivity of course is roads and transport. We have poor roads; Dungog Shire has just been recognised by the NRMA as having some of the worst roads in NSW.
"Also we have issues with public transportation, we are very concerned about our trains, Muswellbrook and Singleton are the same. We're closing down TAFEs and expecting students to travel even further when there's not the ability so we're losing the young people so that they can go and get an education because they're not getting it in the Upper Hunter."
Being in preliminary discussions about preferences, her decision will be made over the coming weeks.
She urged voters to look towards the future when casting their vote on May 22 and consider someone that "really, truly represents the Upper Hunter".