In his second week as leader of the NSW opposition, Luke Foley visited the Mountains last Friday to find out first-hand the issues affecting locals.
After a stroll up Katoomba Street, he chatted to one of the drivers of the hop-on, hop-off Blue Mountains Explorer Bus before sitting down to coffee with several tourism business operators.
As he chatted, Keith Muir, director of the Colong Foundation for Wilderness, walked past and immediately stopped to talk to the man he knows well as the opposition environment spokesman.
Mr Foley, who has visited the Mountains with his family, usually coming up on a Sunday train, described the setting as "beautiful and pristine" and vowed to continue to protect the environment.
He would also focus on creating jobs as well as investing in education and training, he said.
"When I was elected NSW Labor leader I said my priorities would be creating jobs in all our suburbs and regions; investing in our hospitals, schools and TAFE; and protecting our natural environment - these are all priorities for the Blue Mountains as well," Mr Foley said.
"Labor will bring a renewed focus on job creation in the Blue Mountains. Under the Baird Government, unemployment here has risen from 5.7 per cent to 6.5 per cent - above the state average - and there are 10,700 people out of work."
He recognised the sacrifices made by locals who have to be up before dawn to travel to work in Sydney.
"Creating more jobs closer to home will be a key priority for the next Labor Government to reduce the daily commute, relieve congestion and give people more time with loved ones," he said.
Labor candidate for Blue Mountains, Trish Doyle, said Mr Foley was intent on balancing economic development and protecting the environment "and that what the Blue Mountains has always been about", she said.
"People who choose to live in the Mountains do so specifically because it is such a beautiful and pristine natural region - a Labor Government will work with the communities of the Mountains to make sure it stays that way."
Mr Foley's coffee partners raised a number of issues, from disappointment at the lack of low-interest loans after the October 2013 bushfires to concerns about the train timetable.
Ms Doyle said she had received a lot of feedback following a Gazette story about the lack of trains at night. People travelling to Katoomba for entertainment had to leave early because the last trains travelling down the Mountains left at 10.20pm on a Friday night or 10.55 on a Saturday.
Eric Sward, general manager of Katoomba hotel Mountain Heritage, said he was about to lose a staff member because she couldn't get a train from her Springwood home to Katoomba in time for the start of her early morning shift.
Jason Cronshaw, manager director of Blue Mountains Explorer Bus, said a night bus service might be a more cost-effective solution than more late-night trains.
