John Barilaro announces regional NSW job fund after mental health leave
Deputy Premier John Barilaro has returned from a month of mental health leave ‘reset’, recharged and with a new healthier lifestyle. But there’s one thing the Nationals leader has no intention of changing about himself. READ OUR EXCLUSIVE INTERVIEW.
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It was the “reset” John Barilaro said he desperately needed.
Days after returning to work from a month’s mental health leave, the NSW Deputy Premier has opened up about the “bloody hard” road back to parliament, reaching out to colleagues after the koala showdown with the Liberals, and getting on with work.
“This isn’t the end of my journey: it’s just the start,” Mr Barilaro told The Sunday Telegraph. “You don’t fix yourself in four weeks.”
Today the NSW Nationals leader will make his first big announcement since his return — a $100 million fund to create at least 5000 jobs in the bush over the next three years.
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“I’m back to work and I’m excited,” he said. “But this isn’t just about me, it’s been a really tough year for everybody. Our regions have had drought, bushfires and now COVID-19.”
The new Regional Job Creation Fund will provide grants between $100,000 and $10 million to undertake projects and fast-track expansion plans. Applications are now open.
“This isn’t really for the new start-up, we’ve got other grants for them,” Mr Barilaro said.
“This is for existing businesses that want to relocate to regional NSW from interstate or overseas or for those ready to expand and grow.
“If you create jobs, people will actually look at moving to regional and rural NSW and I believe it’s a renaissance period for the regions.”
In his first sit-down interview post-leave, Mr Barilaro said during his time away from politics he met regularly with his psychiatrist, turned off his mobile phone and changed his lifestyle.
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“It was a reset for me — it was something I needed desperately,” he said.
“It was actually the right thing to do, and of course I went through the process that I had to go through, which was bloody hard.”
He added: “I’m walking in the morning, doing exercise and watching what I eat — no grog.”
While at home in Queanbeyan, the former carpenter also “built wardrobes, made some changes to the house, landscaping … all on the list that my wife’s had ready to go for a while.
“It was almost like finding myself again, in a way, and that was good,” Mr Barilaro said.
A week into his leave, the 48-year-old hit “rock bottom”.
“I thought ‘holy dooley’ — you start thinking ‘I’m never going to come back out of this’,” he said.
“Then one day, about 2½ weeks in, I woke up on a Thursday morning and the sun felt better and the day felt better.
“I learned a lot about my DNA and my biology. I also learned a lot about my psychology, the environment and how you manage pressure.”
This year has been a hard year for “Bara”, with the outspoken politician aborting a tilt at federal politics, warring with colleagues over brumbies and bushfires, and seeking help for his mental health battle.
He also lost his beloved father Domenico in July, and last month he threatened to blow up the Coalition over the koala State Environment Planning Policy (SEPP).
“I’m never going to lose my fight — it’s in my DNA — but I accept that I can’t fight every battle,” he said.
Mr Barilaro also spoke of being “embarrassed” about receiving three driving fines, two speeding and one mobile phone, in the week leading up to taking leave.
“It shows you the manic state I may have been in,” he said.
“As Deputy Premier I’m meant to set a standard, I get that, and I wear the penalty like anybody else.”