Many in the bush are still deciding whether our Premier, Dominic Perrottet (above), will be good for rural areas and agriculture, or is a numbers man with a city focus.
He has prioritised the reopening of the economy over COVID caution, which is providing a boost for now, but could quickly become a double-edged sword given the sharp rise we're already seeing in new cases and the inadequate rural health services.
His cabinet reshuffle provides a glimpse as to where his priorities and understanding of the big issues in the bush lie. For instance, Kevin Anderson has been a popular figure in his region, but the water portfolio is a tough gig. We saw previously how it chewed up and spat out Niall Blair, and he was the sort of fella who was across the detail and who also didn't have the burden of a local seat. Melinda Pavey, who just lost the water portfolio, whether you love or hate her position on things, has shown she can pick a direction and make things happen - and she was also seen as a strong supporter of agriculture.
Mr Anderson will need to be able to take an objective position on local water issues, of which there are a few, to take the reins on some big state-wide challenges around the Murray Darling Basin Plan, river and community health and dams, to name a few.
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Meanwhile, for a lot of people outside the Dubbo electorate, Dugald Saunders, Member for Dubbo and now the Minister for Agriculture, is largely an unknown quantity.
Farmers are looking for strong leadership in this role at a time when they feel under attack from the elements, animal activist groups, China and its export suspensions and tariffs, labour shortages and the hard left climate change movement which has the beef industry in particular in its sights.
The Land's understanding is that it might take Mr Saunders a little while to get up to speed with the priorities in this dynamic and challenging portfolio.
With The Greens a force in the North Coast region, some of those The Land has spoken with have also suggested the Coalition's leadership may have overlooked an opportunity in rising star and Member for Coffs Harbour, Gurmesh Singh, who they say would be equally capable of shouldering either of these roles while also providing a stronger presence for the Nationals in the region. Farmers are keen to make the most of the good run of seasons we're now in, so the pressure will be on this new team.
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