GUNNEDAH has new friends in high places, with the elevation of three local politicians to the NSW government Cabinet.
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Gunnedah boy and former mayor Adam Marshall is the new Minister for Agriculture and the Far West, while his fellow Gunnedah colleague Sarah Mitchell is the new Minister for Education and Early Education.
Tamworth MP Kevin Anderson has also been promoted to the frontbench as the Minister for Innovation and Better Regulation.
Mrs Mitchell said the promotion to the education portfolio was a full circle moment.
"20 years ago, I was a Year 12 student at Gunnedah High School, and on Tuesday I'm going to be sworn in as Education Minister," Mrs Mitchell said.
She was also glad to retain the early childhood portfolio, and said it made sense to have it alongside the education ministry.
Mr Marshall said he was particularly proud of Mrs Mitchell, with the two of them attending the same primary school.
"There is more representation around the Cabinet table then we have ever seen in the history of NSW politics and I think that is something to celebrate," Mr Marshall said.
"This means the three of us have a unique opportunity to really put the issues that confront our region front and centre."
Mr Anderson said while he had never sough any office higher than the "proud Member for Tamworth", it was a "great honour" to be promoted to the frontbench.
"Eight years ago when I first decided to have a crack, this wasn't even something that was on the agenda," he said.
"Something I am keen to do, is to make sure the people of the Tamworth electorate are the beneficiaries of this new cabinet position.
"We will make the most of every opportunity. Our region will have a very strong collective voice right in to the heart of government."
First priorities for the new ministers
Mr Anderson said he would be working closely with the Office of Liquor and Gaming, while consulting with industry bodies over "red tape issues".
"I want to make it easier for businesses to do business," he said.
"I'll bringing the voice of local industry groups to the government table. Quite often it's those people who have great ideas.
"We don't want to be ruled by the 23rd floor of Macquarie Street. We want those fresh ideas brought forward by grassroots people."
Mrs Mitchell is ready to hit the ground running, having spent two years as the Assistant Minister for Education.
One of her first priorities will be to look through the NSW government's election commitments around school maintenance.
"We made it clear we want to get rid of that school maintenance backlog," Mrs Mitchell said.
The newly-minted Agriculture Minister said he was looking forward to tackling the "challenging portfolio".
"Needless to say it is a very tough time," Mr Marshall said.
"We are in the midst of toughest droughts in living memory.
"One of my key focus areas will be on reassessing all of the drought assistance, the suite of programs that are available on the table at the moment.
"I'll be looking forward to see what else we can do as a government, particularly given the poor seasonal outlook ahead - we're not too far away from the winter season now."
Mr Marshall said another issue high on his agenda was "dealing with a spate of illegal trespass activity".
"Farmers have to be able to maintain their privacy, and be able to carry out their business without fear of people trespassing or flying drones over their property," he said.
"We saw recently an organisation take to social media to release the private details of thousands of farmers."
The three politicians are among the seven Nationals to sit on the frontbench.