There were a few surprises and missed opportunities in the new look NSW cabinet line-up. The major shakeup saw Dubbo MP Dugald Saunders take the agriculture and western NSW portfolio while Tamworth MP Kevin Anderson is the new Lands and Water Minister.
Long-serving Nationals MP Melinda Pavey revealed she was dumped from cabinet over the weekend while Northern Tablelands MP Adam Marshall will join Ms Pavey on the backbench.
On the North Coast, from the Hunter to the border, which is the fastest growing region in the state, there is now no representation in cabinet. NSW Nationals chairman Andrew Fraser, who is the former Coffs Harbour MP, said it was disappointing there was no minister representation from the North Coast.
"We are the fastest growing region in NSW, I thought we might have ministry up here, we have seats to win at Lismore and Ballina especially and the Nats still have a real interest in Port Macquarie," Mr Fraser said.
"We do have seats that we have to win back up here, to me it's important there is ministerial representation and voice on the cabinet table from here."
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Dugald Saunders said he was looking forward to representing agriculture and western NSW saying: "the one good thing about agriculture now is that it's booming, it's never been a better time to be in ag with prices high, the challenges remain around weather."
He said the labour shortage issue was difficult and it was important for industry and governments to work together.
"I want to find out the lay of the land before I make a statement on what has or hasn't happened, we need to work together to provide what we need to provide to help people in the ag industry," Mr Saunders said. When asked why he was the best person for the job, Mr Saunders said he grew up on farms and loved ag "as a way of life".
"Being the Minister for western NSW is also a fairly important role. I'm in the capital of western NSW in Dubbo, which means I'm well positioned to represent the west really well and I'm right in the middle of NSW to look at ag things," he said.
NSW Farmers president James Jackson said Ms Pavey and Mr Marshall had made a lasting contribution to the state's agricultural sector.
Other important moves for farmers is the appointment of Deputy Premier Paul Toole as Police Minister, Bronnie Taylor as Regional Health Minister, Anthony Roberts as Planning Minister, Sam Farraway as Regional Roads and Transport Minister, Wendy Tuckerman as Local Government Minister, Steph Cooke as Emergency Services Minister and James Griffin as Environment Minister.
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