ENERGY and employment will be the focus of federal Hunter MP Dan Repacholi's maiden speech to parliament Tuesday afternoon.
The speech was meant to be delivered on September 12 and was rescheduled along with parliament following the death of Queen Elizabeth II.
In his speech, Mr Repacholi will talk the parliament through his journey from being a 15-year-old apprentice fitter and turner in Victoria, to the Australian Labor Party's representative in the Hunter.
He will touch on his time as an Olympic pistol shooter, his seven years spent working at Yancoal's Mount Thorley Warkworth open-cut coal mine, and manager role at a Singleton engineering shop.
"I'll talk a fair bit about myself but also the vision for the electorate and what has happened previously in the electorate," Mr Repacholi told the Newcastle Herald.
"I will talk about coal mining moving forward, safe secure jobs and working together as a government."
Earlier this month, Mr Repacholi attended the two-day Jobs and Skills Summit held in Canberra. Prior to the summit, he hosted two roundtables in the Hunter - in Singleton and Edgeworth.
"Safe, secure employment is the number one to everything here in the Hunter," he said.
"If we have safe, good paying jobs, then we have less metal health issues, less social issues, people can get home loans, car loans. They can get on with their lives.
"Obviously when those things aren't happening there is an issue there."
With an electorate of more than 10,000 square kilometres - stretching from Wyee in the south-east to past Denman in the north-west - Mr Repacholi will attempt to cover the region's "dynamic" interests in his speech.
"At the moment, our traditional industries such as mining, energy, horse studs, farming and tourism are doing well," Mr Repacholi will say.
"As I stand here today, the export market for coal is as strong as it has ever been. For as long as that continues, and it will continue for years to come - I will make sure the Hunter remains at the forefront of supplying coal to the world."
In his time at Mt Thorley Warkworth, Mr Repacholi was a union delegate, a dispatch officer, a trainer, and an operator.
"I'm proud to be a former coal miner, I'm bloody proud of my electorate's mining history, and I'm proud to be mates with many people who work in the pits," he will say.
"We need jobs that are well-paid, secure and aren't dominated by dodgy labour hire arrangements.
"Same job, same pay. It's simple."
Despite record coal prices, the Herald reported last week that, for the first time since 2010, ABS figures showed the number of people employed in mining across NSW had dropped below 35,000 for four consecutive quarters.
Just as he did in the day's following his election victory in May, Mr Repacholi will talk about his view for an industry "boom" in the Hunter.
"The Hunter is about to go through one of its biggest booms in decades, not just in booming traditional industries but with the next phase of powering our nation through hydrogen, biomethane, battery storage, wind and solar farms and a range of innovative new projects."
Mr Repacholi will address the parliament on a range of topics such as an Indigenous Voice to parliament, a national anti-corruption commission, health care and the legacy of his predecessor Joel Fitzgibbon.
He will also speak about the turbulent start to his career in federal politics.
When Mr Repacholi was selected as candidate last year, the decision to refer preselection to the national executive for an "expedited" process was met with outrage from some branch members and potential candidates.
In the speech, he will apologise to branch members "about the process that was undertaken".
Mr Repacholi is due to speak about 4.20pm and will finish his address with thanks to his wife, Alex, and daughters Zoe and Asha.
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