WHILE former Premier Barry O'Farrell's shock downfall during last year's Independent Commission Against Corruption hearings deepened the embarrassment for the Coalition government (which put a lot of effort into dragging Labor's dirty laundry over the coals), the stumble has, in some ways, provided a timely opportunity.
When O'Farrell won government in 2011, his agenda was largely about debt repair and cost cutting for NSW.
There is still austerity in the air, but when it comes to rural NSW, the fresh-faced Mike Baird and his banking background have injected a feeling of reconstruction action.
Although it's not without risk.
The Liberal-National coalition needs at least nine members in the Upper House, plus Christian Democrat support, to get its "poles and wires" privatisation plan through parliament, given the Shooters and Fishers will vote against it.
The coalition's big promise of rural infrastructure spending has big potential benefits.
The cost to rural residents of poor roads, dilapidated rail infrastructure and port bottlenecks is a huge impost on profitability.
The $3.7 billion promised for roads, bridges and rail - part $6b for regional infrastructure available from the 99 year lease of half the electricity generation and supply network - will be chewed up pretty quickly, primarily because rural transport infrastructure has been neglected for so long.
The timeliness of NSW's action plan is even more critical because federal infrastructure spending has struggled to survive widespread budget cuts.
Labor, meanwhile, may win a few votes with its push for a moratorium on coal seam gas on the North Coast, its drought assistance promise and its $3b for regional infrastructure, but for a party which once had strong roots in the bush, it seems to regard rural NSW as not much more than space for new national parks.
Labor's forestry, vegetation and parkland policies have contributed to a creeping strategy of conservation lock-ups responsible for about 15 per cent of Australia's agricultural land being taken out of production since 2000 (see p20).
Neither major party has yet convinced voters they have sound plans to protect prime farmland and water from mining, but at least there is an attempt for action by the Coalition on this front.
But farmers urgently need some clarity about what's really on its native vegetation management agenda. The silence is scary.
Andrew Norris
Editor of The Land.
Editor of The Land.
