YOUTH unemployment and Tomaree peninsula health services will be on Labor candidate Meryl Swanson's 'to do list' if she's elected next month.
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Well known in the Maitland and Kurri Kurri areas Ms Swanson has increasingly turned her attention to Port Stephens.
Besides door knocking at Medowie she's attended community forums to do with contamination and even the sale of surplus education land at Salamander Bay.
"These issues aside we have an ageing population with increasing health demands," she said.
If elected Ms Swanson said she would prioritise radiography services for Tomaree.
"I've had people call me and say, 'look Meryl, I'm having to travel to Newcastle for this'," she said.
"In an area with such a high proportion of ageing people it's needed and there's kids with sports injuries too.
"There's a list of things I'll be pushing for and this is on it - it's very achievable."
The former talk-back radio host said the elderly and youth needed government action on these kind of issues. As a child of the Coalfields she said youth unemployment was vital.
"We've got youth unemployment in the Hunter at 19.5 per cent, excluding the Newcastle region, and while we don't have Port Stephens specific figures I suspect it's higher again," she said.
"We have to cater to both ends of the electorate and there are a lot of people in Raymond Terrace, for example, who want jobs."
Ms Swanson said Labor's Partnerships Program would have made inroads if the Coalition hadn't axed it in 2014.
"Our region is in transition into services and I can't underline the importance of the NBN enough, it's the biggest piece of infrastructure we have seen and are likely to see in 50 years," she said.
"Raymond Terrace was on Labor's list and there would have been NBN there now if our version had have been rolled out.
"We have said, if we are elected, where there have not been contracts signed, we'll roll out fibre to the home.
"The blame falls directly at Malcolm Turnbull's feet - we have been sold a pup."
If elected, whether in government or not, Ms Swanson said her focus would be jobs.
"I'll be a very strong voice, banging on the table, pounding on the doors, getting myself in a position advocating for Paterson to get a fair deal," she said.
"In Port Stephens, tourism is a big part of the service industry and we can't forget that the environment is important to that."
