The Greens names Kay Nankervis as its candidate for the seat of Bathurst

Ms Nankervis, a former Charles Sturt University journalism lecturer turned media consultant, believes voters in the electorate are looking for a change, and one that aligns with Greens policies.

"I'm really happy to be standing again for the Greens, because I do believe we the Greens are the only party that really has the strong commitment to dealing with climate change and local environment issues, while we put people first," she said.

READ MORE: The Bathurst candidates for the 2023 state election

While respectful of Mr Toole's time in politics, she said he and his party, The Nationals, have fallen behind when it comes to the environment and social justice.

"I respect anyone who's in politics, because I know it's a hard gig and the people who actually have the job of being MPs do very hard work," she said.

"I'm not going to criticise Paul, except to say that he's a member of a party that has always dragged the chain on climate change policy, has dragged the chain on justice for first nations people, has dragged the chain on equal opportunity and marriage equality.

"What I will be taking up to Paul Toole is the policies of the party he represents and how they have always been behind; they've always fallen behind what needs to be done to create sustainable futures for the regions and livability and justice for people from marginalised groups."

READ MORE: Deputy Premier Paul Toole hopes for a fourth term as Member for Bathurst

When it comes to policies, climate change and the environment will always be the top priority for the Greens.

However, Ms Nankervis said the party is also committed to addressing the housing crisis.

"We have the strongest policies in regards to housing, which is a major issue at state level," she said.

"We still have the policy where, across Australia, we want to build one million homes that are part of affordable and subsidised home programs, and NSW would be the big beneficiary from that policy.

"At state level, that is very much a part of our policy, to push state governments to improve their housing policy so we deal with the housing crisis that has hit the Central West and is affecting Bathurst."

The Greens are also concerned about mining projects, including the McPhillamys gold project and the Bowden Silver lead mine, both of which are located within the Bathurst electorate.

Sustainable farming and the arts are also focal points for the Greens.

"We're really supportive of the fact the Labor government has released a new cultural policy at federal level and we are hoping that we will build on that and expand on that," Ms Nankervis said.

"We have a really strong arts policy, where we believe artists shouldn't have to take an oath of poverty in order to practice.

"We believe the arts are so important in terms of the mental health wellbeing of people in the regions, so we believe in the continued support of Regional Arts NSW to expand that support, because it has been diminished over the last few years, and of course continued support for Arts Out West."

Getting elected as the Member for Bathurst will be a challenge for Ms Nankervis, who is running for a long-held Nationals seat against an incumbent who, at the last election, secured 55.1 per cent of the first preference votes.

"I think we are going to encroach on Paul Toole's vote," she said.

"I don't know if we'll beat him. We'll certainly give him a lesson in climate change politics, such that he's got to stop hiding what he knows about the need to have decent climate change policies.

"He's afraid that people who don't understand the climate change science will not like him very much if he admits that he does understand it, so we're going to show him that climate change is an accepted scientific reality across the broad Australian community and the broad Bathurst seat community.

"That will be seen in an increased vote for the Greens and anyone else who is campaigning on climate and social justice in this election."

While she acknowledges the challenge, she knows her candidacy, win or lose, can also have an impact on the upper house.

"What the Greens always achieves is we always increase our vote in the upper house. We will be doing that again," she said.

"We have three fantastic candidates standing in the upper house, so whatever the result for me personally in the seat of Bathurst, I will make a difference in terms of who we get in the upper house."

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