He's been a school teacher at Assumption School, mayor of Bathurst and our state member for the past 10 years, and now Paul Toole will assume the mantle of the second-highest ranking minister in state government: deputy premier.

Mr Toole was sworn in as the 19^th deputy premier of NSW on Wednesday after securing the NSW Nationals leadership in a party room ballot, defeating Oxley MP Melinda Pavey convincingly at a vote of 15 to three.

READ ALSO: Premier Dominic Perrottet welcomes new NSW Nationals leader Paul Toole

He succeeds outgoing Monaro MP John Barilaro, who announced his resignation from the NSW Nationals leadership and state parliament on Monday.

But despite acknowledging the ascension as a "real honour, Mr Toole said his main focus will be helping navigate NSW, and especially regional and rural areas, out of lockdown.

"I'm not focusing on it [the deputy premiership] because I want to make sure we focus on the people of this state and ensure we get back to work and ensure it's business as usual," he said.

"The people of this state have been doing it tough now for a number of years, and I think what's important here is we get on with the job we were elected to do."

READ ALSO: Central Tablelands Collections Facility on track to open next year

Mr Toole is the first deputy premier to hail from Bathurst in the position's 89-year history, and the first from the Central West since former Dubbo MP Troy Grant.

He will be deputy to NSW Premier Dominic Perrottet, who was sworn in on Tuesday.

In his maiden speech as deputy premier, Mr Toole stressed a regional tour with the new premier will be high on the agenda post-lockdown.

"One of the first things I did when I became NSW Nationals leader is I went back to my room and rang Mr Perrottet," he said.

"I told him that 'I want to catch up with him very shortly with him' to talk about the future and what happens next.

"Dom's already said that, as soon as we get out of parliament in the next fortnight, he wants to do a regional tour together."

READ ALSO: Informer: The numbers game is getting old

Minister for Mental Health, Regional Youth and Women Bronnie Taylor was appointed as deputy leader of the NSW Nationals, whom Mr Toole said is "talented, enthusiastic, energetic and comes with a lot of experience."

"She [Bronnie Taylor] is going to be absolutely brilliant to work with as we go forward for this state," he said.

"We've got Sarah Mitchell [Education and Early Childhood Learning Minister] as well: another incredible woman from our party, and the great thing about the NSW Nationals is we have strong, talented people across each area."

But above all, Mr Toole said he would never have made it this far without the dedicated support of the Bathurst community.

"Everyone that has been a part of my journey: my former Assumption colleagues, fellow councillors and council staff and Bathurst residents young and old: has helped shaped me as a parliamentarian," he said.

"But I also have to thank my loving family, who have supported me through thick and thin, and I really cannot wait to hug my mum again once we're out of lockdown."

"It's a big job ahead, but I'm ready."

Our journalists work hard to provide local, up-to-date news to the community. This is how you can access our trusted content: