Our own Barnaby Joyce took advantage of the spotlight to voice some of his views, and while they gained a mix response, at least he  grabbed the spotlight while it was trained on him.

And if you were a NSW State politician, let’s say for example, a newly appointed Premier, Tamworth Country Music Festival must be an opportunity too good to miss.

What better way to expose yourself to a captive audience of 50,000 or so Australians, who, if they aren’t from the bush themselves, obviously value and hold dear all things rural and regional.

Issues such as respect for farmers and primary producers, opposition to coal seam gas and support for cancer sufferers living in regional areas have been just some of the sentiments evident at this year’s festival.

With so many country people in one place, ideas, views and opinions about the way things are going are readily swapped in the street, across the bar and around the campfire.

Add to this that everyone is in relaxed, high spirits –(and how could you not be), and the scene is ripe for a street walk and a meet and greet.

In Peel Street on Saturday, the Premier was stretching out her hand to people saying, “Hi, I’m Gladys, I’m your new Premier.”

New being the key word. Her predecessor hardly made good friends with the bush during his tenure. 

Council amalgamations hurt while lock out laws turned into a poisonous debate in the city.

But the knee jerk decision to ban greyhound racing, followed by the astounding back flip, resulted in an irreparable dent to Mike Baird’s credibility in the bush. 

Even with Baird gone, the NSW government has a lot of trust to rebuild with regional and rural voters.

With the announcement of her cabinet on Sunday, the new Premier is showing all the signs that she gets this.

In our own neck of the woods, the appointment of young regional players like Sarah Mitchell and Adam Marshall to key positions could well be a strategic move to show this government is serious about making back lost ground.

Here’s hoping.