Orange's Scott Barrett will deliver first speech in parliament as newest member of NSW Legislative Council

Pre-selected for a seat in the Upper House in mid-February, Mr Barrett was sworn in as the newest member of the NSW Legislative Council on March 1.

A representative of the NSW Nationals, Mr Barrett fills one of six positions in the Upper House - often called the 'House of Review' - following Trevor Khan's resignation in January after 14 years in the role.

The vacant spot left Mr Barrett as a key contender, which, since successfully securing of the role, has seen many surreal yet gratitude-filled moments for the freshest MLC on the blocks.

"Not many people have had this opportunity and for little old me to be able to walk in to legislative council is a real privilege that is not lost on me for one second," Mr Barrett said.

"It's a genuine privilege and honour to be here."

Having grown up in the Central West, Mr Barrett has several ideas in the pipeline, with batting for people in country areas he says is a top priority.

"I'm looking forward to doing some great things for however long I'm here and I'll be working non-stop, flat-out for the people of regional NSW, because it is, fairdinkum, the best spot in the world to be and we have the opportunity to protect that, and also make it better."

Anticipating his inaugural speech in parliament on Thursday afternoon, this first sitting week will involve Mr Barrett voicing his targets on behalf of regional communities across the state, which he says has an abundance of social, sporting and cultural opportunities to be involved in.

A main factor, however, he says will include the primary industries sector as a particular focus - breaking 'country stigma' and promoting rural areas in terms of future progression.

"Regional NSW is the place to be and particularly at the moment, we're not just 'hicks' living out in the bush," Mr Barrett said.

"There's also so many job opportunities in primary industries and I'm not just talking about people who go out and be farmers - we need kids, bright kids to realise that there's a future for them in regional NSW and that goes from being a farm manager, or being a fencer, or a shearer, or a farrier, right through to being a food technologist or a plant biologist - or working on our biosecurity networks.

"So, the whole gamut of education, the whole gamut of where you work is available to people in regional NSW - and we need people to know that this is an opportunity."

The current housing market is also at the top of Mr Barrett's list in his address to parliament tomorrow, which he says will "be a key" for progressive growth.

"Of course we can't just say to people in Sydney 'yeah, move out to regional NSW', because at the moment there are issues in regional NSW as well as in our major cities surrounding housing availability," he said.

"Housing availability is going to be a key to whether we can reach our full potential in the short and longer term, so we need to be looking at opportunities to do that."

With these housing concerns something that Mr Barrett says can be "pointed back to so many issues", it's become apparent to the new Upper House member that the answers are here - with his vision to tackle the lack of housing through logical planning.

"It's never something I grew up wanting to be the champion of, but I can see that it's the solution to many of our problems," he said.

"We would be decentralising a lot of our government agencies into the regional areas, looking for affordable housing for people to be able to move to and live in regional areas and contribute to the communities as well."

Leaving some food for thought, it was also mentioned that regional living was a lifestyle he "couldn't wait to get back to".

"People are happier out there there's more to do, there's more space, there's better community," Mr Barrett added.

"And we need to be capitalising on that and then watch the potential of these areas grow."

The newest MLC will deliver his inaugural speech on Thursday afternoon at 5:30pm, which will be live-streamed on the parliamentary website.

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