THE coalition has had a win in returning to government in NSW, but Premier Mike Baird and his team now need to make sure they deliver on their promises to rural NSW.
The win has come at a cost for the Coalition - in particular the Nationals - with big swings to the Greens in the seats of Lismore (still to be decided) and Ballina.
This indicates the Liberals need to tread carefully on issues such as coal seam gas (CSG) - especially given swings to the Greens (also partly at the expense of Labor) in some of the Liberals' "safe" northern Sydney seats (including Mr Baird's seat of Manly) - and not take the election win as a mandate for development.
However, rural NSW voted on many issues with CSG development just one of them.
Farmers tend to look at the bigger picture, including infrastructure, health, mobile phone coverage, rural services, drought support, native vegetation, along with simply having a workable plan for the state and having a voice at the table (namely through the Nationals).
They will therefore not want to see the senior partner of the Coalition forget its friends in the bush.
Greens wins have largely been around single, hot-button issues, but rural voters in Coalition-held seats will still be watching how Mr Baird supports farmers and rural regions.
Of course, how effective Mr Baird's party is will also depend on its success in getting its plans through the Upper House.
Broader challenges which also have importance for some rural businesses includes the construction of the WestConnex project to ease the bottleneck to Sydney's ports and airport.
Incoming Greens member Jenny Leong in Newtown will no doubt be a thorn in the Liberals' side on this, having reinforced on the weekend she is opposed to the project.
With the seats of Ballina and Lismore essentially collateral damage, the Liberals now need to show they weren't cut loose as a means to an end.
The CSG lobby is already in the government's ear, claiming the victory as a clear mandate to develop the industry in NSW.
However, there are lessons to be learned and the Liberals themselves were buying back exploration licenses in the approach to the election due to the public's concern.
It is now the coalition's time to show it really can deliver "balance" on rural issues.