Ballina Shire Councillor Michelle Bailey has put crime and tougher sentencing front and centre after winning Nationals preselection for the state seat of Ballina.

Cr Bailey was selected by local party members yesterday, on the same day the NSW Coalition signalled law and order would be a major battleground heading into the March state election.

Her selection still requires ratification by the Nationals’ senior council in Sydney later this week, although that is expected to be a formality.

“Stronger bail laws are necessary now,” Cr Bailey told party members in her preselection speech, shared with Ballina News Daily.

“Every person deserves to feel safe, at home, at work and in public.”

Cr Bailey went further, calling for longer sentences in appropriate cases and fewer opportunities for repeat offenders to quickly return to the community.

“Compassion matters. Early intervention matters.

“But victims matter too.

“We also need to continue lobbying for longer sentencing where appropriate, less opportunity for repeat offenders to simply walk back out, and meaningful rehabilitation programs while people are in custody.”

Her comments came as the NSW Liberals and Nationals unveiled an “Adult Crime, Adult Time” policy targeting serious youth offending.

Under the Coalition proposal, more serious offences committed by young people would be dealt with in the District Court, where adult maximum sentences could be imposed.

The Minns Government has also moved to toughen laws targeting serious youth crime, announcing its own measures in recent days aimed particularly at young people recruited to carry out violence for organised crime.

For Ballina voters, the debate comes amid heightened local concern about crime and anti-social behaviour.

On Friday evening, police were called to the Henry Rous Hotel in central Ballina after reports three teenage boys had harassed and threatened staff and patrons, with police alleging one produced a machete.

It’s the second incident involving a machete on River Street within a month and comes as Ballina Shire Council prepares to roll out its new CCTV Community Safety Network.

‘My roots are here’

Cr Bailey also used her preselection speech to emphasise deep family and community connections to the electorate.

Her family’s history in the region stretches back to the 1860s, with a farming background at Uralba.

“We come from a farming background in Uralba. My family have helped build, and have also donated land for, infrastructure that stands here today.”

Cr Bailey said generations of her family had been born in local and regional hospitals. Her mother was born at Bangalow and she was born at Ballina Hospital.

“So when I say I am local, I do not mean I moved here and fell in love with the place.

“I mean my roots are here. My memories are here. My future is here.”

Michelle Bailey; “I will not need a briefing note to understand this community.”

Her selection also marks a party first, with Cr Bailey the first woman preselected by the Nationals to contest the seat of Ballina.

Cr Bailey is also a local business owner with her husband Martin, whom she paid tribute to during her speech for supporting her through more than 30 years of marriage and her years of community involvement.

Her business background led to a prominent role representing the Lennox Head business community, including serving as president of Business Lennox, formerly the Lennox Head Chamber of Commerce.

She is also president of the Westpac Rescue Helicopter Support Group and has been heavily involved in community events including the North Coast Show and Shine and Love Lennox Festival.

Her broader preselection pitch included regional infrastructure, reinstating the Regional Seniors Travel Card, suicide prevention, improving the health of the Richmond River and greater support for volunteers and community organisations.

“If I am given the honour of representing this Party in Ballina, I will bring local knowledge, council experience, business leadership and a lifetime of community involvement,” she said.

“I will not need a briefing note to understand this community.

“I live it.”

Subject to final party ratification, Cr Bailey will join Greens candidate Mandy Nolan and Labor candidate Janet Swain in the contest for Ballina.

The Greens and Nationals have been the final two parties in the count at each of the past three state elections in Ballina.

The Nationals held the seat until the retirement of long-serving MP Don Page in 2015, when the Greens’ Tamara Smith won it.

With Ms Smith retiring at the March election, neither the Greens nor Nationals will have the advantage of an incumbent candidate.