The meeting has been organised by the presidents of the Hunter Valley Wine Country Tourism and Hunter Valley Wine Industry Association.

A joint statement by Hunter Valley Wine Country Tourism president, Alex Stuart and Hunter Valley Wine Industry Association president, Andrew Margan said:

“This will allow each candidate the opportunity to tell our members, and other rural citizens, why they should consider a vote for them, and to give those present at the meeting the opportunity to assess each candidate’s values and their intentions to address the many issues that impact our rural lands and our wine and tourism businesses. The meeting will start at 6pm.

“While the wine and tourism associations have taken the opportunity to host this meeting, we are not advocating support for any specific candidate,” they said.

The format of the meeting will be:

Members and the public to submit questions to the joint chairs for the meeting - Alex Stuart and Andrew Margan – prior to the evening to be collated and forwarded to the candidates one week before the meeting.

On the night each candidate will be asked to speak for five minutes – to cover their platform, values, responses to key questions etc.

Then the Chair will refer to any key written questions that were not addressed, and ask each candidate to make a short response.

Then questions from the floor.

Then 3 minutes for each candidate to sum up.

Among the issues identified by both presidents are:

▪ Road infrastructure

▪ Ring-fencing the vineyards and tourism areas in the Lower Hunter Valley from coal seam gas exploration, and further coal mining activity.

▪ Increasing local government area and State funding for wine tourism marketing.

▪ F3 Hunter Freeway, Wine Country Entry Plan.

▪ Vineyards district development permissions and restrictions, sustainable growth.

▪ Increasing Cessnock City’s recognition of the value from, and their return from the tourism and wine industries.

▪ Training for young people, world class tourism industry ▪ Development of cycle ways in the country areas of Pokolbin.