Labor opens nominations in Orange

NSW Labor hopes a hospital scandal, the shutdown of greyhound racing, health cuts and council mergers will help lure voters from the coalition at the Orange by-election.

Nominations for Labor preselection opened on Friday ahead of the November 12 poll, which was sparked by Orange Nationals MP Andrew Gee's move to federal politics.

Opposition Labor Leader Luke Foley says his party hasn't won the regional seat for 72 years but he is determined to give voters the chance to protest the Baird government's "city-centric" decisions.