“I am here to fight for you and alongside you. While we might not always win everything we want, everyone will know that we fought until there was no fight left. I will earn your trust, I will earn your belief, and I will be your voice. I have never been more humbled nor more determined in my life.”

And while Ms Cooke applauded the $500 million that had been spent on roads by the Coalition government in the electorate, she acknowledged that there was still more work to be done.

“Roads are the lifeblood of our region. They connect our communities and our families, businesses and corporations. They connect producers to ports. For our regions to flourish, for this state to work to its strengths, our focus must remain on roads and rail.” Ms Cooke said. 

Ms Cooke is also a passionate advocate for youth mental health.

“For the thousands of educators in rural and regional NSW, the mental health and wellbeing of our students is as important as physical learning spaces and quality curriculum. Too often we hear of our young people—our future—engaging in self-harm and even taking their own lives.”

“For those of us who had the most simple and delightful upbringing in our idyllic towns, these tragedies are as distressingly perplexing as they are heartbreaking.”

Ms Cooke also mentioned her small business background, noting how the $50 million announced through the Connecting Country Communities Fund would go towards addressing mobile blackspots throughout the electorate.

“Having toiled through the 10,000-hour mark in owning and operating a small business, I will always be a strong and passionate advocate for the needs of this critical sector across my electorate” Ms Cooke said.

“Small businesses provide goods and services, drive innovation, creativity, industry and growth, contribute to local charities and causes, and employ people. We all know that jobs change lives.”