NSW Nationals Leader Dugald Saunders has vowed to make the Department of Primary Industries (DPI) its own separate business unit again.
He made the remarks during an address at the NSW Farmers Conference, warning DPI is being watered down, after it was completely absorbed by the Department of Regional NSW (DRNSW).
Mr Saunders labelled the changes made under Labor's functional review as unfair, unreasonable, and unnecessary.
"DPI needs autonomy, and we have shown that's what works best as we go through the cycle of droughts, floods, fires and major biosecurity outbreaks," Mr Saunders said.
"It's my main priority to stand up for our farmers and that won't happen with DPI in its current form, so we will make that change.
"The new joint Department is also being coordinated by the Premier's Office in Sydney, which completely misses the point, because having people who live and work in the regions – supporting the regions – is crucial to giving our communities the voice they need and deserve."
He also raised concerns over changes to Local Land Services (LLS) which has seen the pay allocated to Local Board Members and the Chair cut by about two thirds since Chris Minns became Premier.
"The reality is LLS is being downsized, and again there's too much control from Macquarie Street, which means at some point the "local" part we all know works really well will be a distant memory," Mr Saunders said.
"When I was lucky enough to be the Minister, I uplifted pay rates to ensure we attracted the best people we could, but now less pay means less ability to travel to get the local information needed to make the same difference they have in the past."
There were also calls for more balance when it comes to Labor's biodiversity plan, which poses a risk to the livelihoods of every farmer across NSW.
Mr Saunders warned against increasing restrictions on the existing Land Management Native Vegetation Codes which allow farmers to have a say when it comes to their own land
