Health, climate change, housing/homelessness and support for seniors are the issues that matter most to the voters in the Bega Valley and Eurobodalla shires.
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The cost of living was not far behind.
In June, Member for Bega Michael Holland sent reply-paid cards to his constituents across the electorate asking them to advise if there were any particular issues they would like to raise with him.
"I'd love to hear what's important to you in our local community," the message read.
The card listed 12 potential issues and people were also invited to nominate any other issues they wanted to raise.
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Health
In July Dr Holland hosted community forums on Health in Bega and Moruya to learn about the state of healthcare services in the neighbouring shires.
"The feedback I have received has largely centred around the lack of services available in our region and the need to travel long distances to seek the medical attention they need," Dr Holland said.
Something else Dr Holland said was "extremely disappointing" was that despite it being four months since the NSW government announced the creation of a new Regional Health Ministerial Advisory Panel, it was still not in place.
Housing and homelessness
Dr Holland was working towards holding a forum on the electorate's housing and homelessness crisis in early October.
Dr Holland said the housing roundtable will involve all levels of government as well as experts within the Bega electorate community.
"It's concerning that two years on we are still hearing in our office the struggles of bushfire-affected victims, particularly regarding delays and the increase of building costs, with some basic building materials already up 30 per cent."
Supporting seniors
The priority of supporting senior residents among residents makes sense given baby boomers well and truly outnumber millennials on the South Coast.
In contrast, the 2021 Census showed that millennials were closing the gap with baby boomers across the nation.
"With a third of all senior Australians living alone, there is a real need for assistance to alleviate loneliness and social isolation, especially for those living in regional and rural NSW," Dr Holland said.
Climate change & environment
"We live in one of the most pristine and ecologically diverse coastal areas in the country," Dr Holland said.
"We, as elected members of parliament, have an important role to play in making sure our constituents are listened to when it comes to their local environment."
Other issues nominated by people were to end native forest logging and roads/potholes.
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