The NSW government has been accused of abandoning the regions, after government ministers failed to attend a briefing about the ongoing mouse plague.

A delegation of farmers and CWA members had travelled to the NSW parliament to brief representatives on the emergency threatening their crops, homes and schools.

“It’s a cry for help because it’s dire,” Jim Wilson said.

Premier Gladys Berejiklian defended the low attendance, citing earlier interventions and meetings between stakeholders and Agriculture Minister Adam Marshall.

“We have been on top of this issue as much as we can.

“Today’s meeting … [was] scheduled during the same time as our joint party meeting … and we can’t change the time of those meetings.

“It’s likely to get worse before it gets better … there’s only so much we can do – it’s nature, at the end.

“We can’t pretend to be able to fix what is a natural disaster.”

Press PLAY below to hear the Premier’s response in full

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