Mrs Dalton said in the year ahead there are several areas that need urgent addressing in the MIA, including mental health services, water corruption, school funding, housing and reviving industry in the region.

Mental health

"We have close to the highest suicide rate in Australia, but the fewest mental health services," Mrs Dalton said.

"I'll continue to fight for inpatient mental health units in our hospitals."

Water corruption

"In December, I urged the state corruption watchdog to re-open its investigation into water mismanagement," the Member for Murray said.

"I have found emails from NSW government officials that prove they continue to favour Northern Basin irrigators. This hurts our region."

School funding

"Many schools across the area and run down, short on teachers and don't have proper cooling," she said.

"These issues need to be addressed to ensure the gap between our region and Sydney does not widen further."

Housing

"There is a chronic housing shortage in Leeton and Griffith," Mrs Dalton said.

"Now is the perfect time for government to build social and affordable housing - land values are low and building can stimulate economies depressed by the pandemic and water mismanagement."

Reviving MIA industries

"We have lost too many jobs in dairy and rice, due to bad water policies," she said.

After the challenges of 2020 Mrs Dalton said in 2021, the state government also needed to provide a clear plan on closing the gap between the city and country NSW.

On average, in the MIA, residents die around four years earlier than people in Sydney.

"We also have three times to suicide rate, and lower health outcomes," Mrs Dalton said.

"The populations in our small towns are declining.

"The government needs to take this trend seriously, and come out with a plan to reverse it."

Mrs Dalton said in her role as the local Member for Murray she would be spending the year advocating for the region to get as much funding as possible for hospitals, schools and services.

Getting the MIA moving again to thrive and prosper is something Mrs Dalton said could do with more support from the government.

She believes the region isn't necessarily going in the right direction as we speak.

"Generally no, as I mentioned, we are falling behind Sydney in a lot of areas," Mrs Dalton said.

"But there have been some positives since I'd been elected.

"The seat is now marginal, so we are finally starting to get some attention after many years of neglect.

"I think the best thing people can do is make some noise, in the media and on social media.

IN OTHER NEWS:

"When something is wrong, be vocal about your concerns.

"For 27 years, the NSW government did nothing about the demountable girls dorms at Yanco Agricultural High School.

"However, after generating huge media on it this year, the government have now pledged to build new dorms."

If you would like to raise any concerns with Mrs Dalton, contact her office to discuss.

You can also follow her Facebook page to keep up-to-date with her activities in 2021.