Political and business leaders will be under pressure to follow through on the outcomes from the Bush Summit held in Tamworth.
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The spotlight may have dimmed following the event on August 11, but the job is still ahead according to local community leaders.
![A crowd of anti-renewables protesters greeted the Prime Minister's car outside the Tamworth Regional Entertainment and Conference Centre, the site of the 2023 Bush Summit. Picture by Gareth Gardner A crowd of anti-renewables protesters greeted the Prime Minister's car outside the Tamworth Regional Entertainment and Conference Centre, the site of the 2023 Bush Summit. Picture by Gareth Gardner](/images/transform/v1/crop/frm/200003594/e576f90c-7043-4808-8cfb-beb7e842f529.jpg/r0_0_7476_5129_w1200_h678_fmax.jpg)
"What I took out of it is these parliament members are aware of some of the issues, so at least they can't come back and say they didn't know about it," Tamworth Business Chamber President Matthew Sweeney said.
"What was interesting was what they saw, recognising housing shortages, issues with health in the bush, issues to do with agriculture, commentary about renewable energy and the transition to renewables and community involvement.
"The question is now, what are we going to do about it?"
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One positive outcome from the summit, Mr Sweeney said, was attracting a large number of high-profile politicians and businesspeople to Tamworth, who will likely come back for follow-up meetings.
"That kind of stuff can open doors," he said.
Tamworth's mayor Russell Webb said the issues raised on Friday are shared concerns.
"It was great to be able to host the summit in Tamworth in terms of getting our name out there on the national stage and talking about the issues that confront not only us, but all of regional NSW," Cr Webb said.
![Tamworth mayor Russell Webb was the final speaker at the 2023 Bush Summit and thanked all attendees for coming out to the bush. Picture by Ben Jaffrey Tamworth mayor Russell Webb was the final speaker at the 2023 Bush Summit and thanked all attendees for coming out to the bush. Picture by Ben Jaffrey](/images/transform/v1/crop/frm/200003594/b3da8255-5f1c-4f74-97f8-b9e026519690.JPG/r0_0_5568_3712_w1200_h678_fmax.jpg)
The mayor brought the conference to a close on Friday with a plea for leaders at all levels to come to the party on funding for rural and regional NSW.
"It was good to have various politicians from both state and federal level to actually hear and understand what some of the concerns are in the bush, and the importance of recognising they need to continue to fund projects in the bush," he said.
"What many of them would have seen is that Tamworth certainly is a growing area that's moving forward as a regional centre, and how important regions like Tamworth are to the national economy."
About 67 per cent of the value of Australia's exports comes from regional, rural and remote areas, according to the National Rural Health Alliance.
![Anthony Albanese highlighted a $38 million investment into drought preparedness and a removal of barley tariffs from China at the 2023 Bush Summit in Tamworth. Picture by Gareth Gardner Anthony Albanese highlighted a $38 million investment into drought preparedness and a removal of barley tariffs from China at the 2023 Bush Summit in Tamworth. Picture by Gareth Gardner](/images/transform/v1/crop/frm/200003594/284bcfce-ac76-41b6-946c-6a68bcd8765f.jpg/r0_0_4760_3194_w1200_h678_fmax.jpg)
The mayor said while he didn't expect any major announcements to come out of the summit, a $38 million investment in drought preparedness and an increase in barley trade with China came as pleasant surprises.
"It's another bow in our arrow for the barley trade," Loomberah farmer Kevin Tongue said, though he also said the announcement isn't a huge one for the industry.
"Our traders have done a marvellous job over the past three years to find new markets for commodity barely overseas when China stopped procuring it, so it's not going to have a major impact, but every market you can get is a benefit," Mr Tongue said.
![Former NSW Farmers Tamworth branch chairman Kevin Tongue. Picture file Former NSW Farmers Tamworth branch chairman Kevin Tongue. Picture file](/images/transform/v1/crop/frm/200003594/bc97bf01-21cc-4618-9cd8-6cc038ce0fad.jpg/r0_0_904_678_w1200_h678_fmax.jpg)
Anthony Albanese visited Mr Tongue's farm on Friday, but the former councillor wasn't there to greet the Prime Minister.
Instead, he was on holiday in Queensland.
"It's a shame I wasn't there, but we've had this trip planned for 12 months and we weren't going to put it off just for the Prime Minister," Mr Tongue said with a laugh.
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