NSW election 2023: it's not an easy election choice

And that's not in the west of NSW where folks are battling the aftermath of devastating floods and years of drought hangover.

This is on top of the every day issues of roads, education, health, labour shortages, telecommunications and infrastructure.

The west we are talking about is western Sydney where the biggest load of resources and funding has been thrown from all the major parties, because lets face it, that's where the votes are.

And governments only seem to care about what Peter or Patricia from Parramatta thinks.

Ask anyone across the political divide about the election and they will also say Labor has it in the bag.

Well, ask anyone except for The Nationals because they are still living in hope. Why is that?

It's been raised The Nationals are out of touch with their regions and are more concerned about themselves than the real issues.

Maybe they should have a good inward look at what's not working and go chat with their constituents.

Go do the miles and have a chat to people about the real issues - and not just because it's an election year.

They could take a leaf out of Northern Tablelands MP Adam Marshall's book, who based on feedback from his constituents would have to be the most loved MP of any regional electorate right now.

And this isn't to say The Nats aren't splashing the cash and making lots of promises. Every day there is a new announcement of funding.

But questions have been raised about where this bottomless cup of coffers has come from?

Or does the election cash splash highlight that The Nats know the Coalition is on the ropes?

And could it be that voters are circling in on this knowing that the Coalition has had a 12-year run in power and is weighing up whether to give the other guys a crack.

But what would a Labor government look like, and why do they have basically no presence in the bush? There is no doubt Labor has focused much of its energy on western Sydney in seats it knows it will win.

In doing that the party has effectively walked away from the rest of the state. In some regional seats, Labor hasn't even announced candidates.

It was a similar situation in the recent federal election, and, while the bush is traditionally fairly rusted on to The Nats, the absence of Labor in particular is stifling debate about a lot of important issues.

And if Labor wins NSW government, where does that leave the bush for representation, given most of the party's eggs are in suburbia?

All Labor has offered up so far is a biosecurity commissioner and an independent agriculture commissioner.

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The only shining light is that if it all goes to plan then Shadow Agriculture Minister Mick Veitch, who has been busy toiling away behind the scenes for more than a decade (and who lasted through three The Nats' agriculture ministers Niall Blair, Adam Marshall and now Dugald Saunders), will take the top ag job.

But what is standing in his way?

Firstly Labor needs to win government and secondly they have to get enough primary votes so he can actually get elected at number nine on the Labor Upper House ticket.

In one of the most shake-your-head moments in all of this, Labor did not pre-select Veitch - Labor's only representative who has any actual knowledge of the issues facing regional and rural NSW - at the ALP conference in October when it came to deciding the Upper House ticket.

Cameron Murphy of Padstow got the spot, so it's going to be a big ask to see Veitch at the table.

It is otherwise likely that The Nationals will pick up all their current seats.

They also have their eye on winning back Murray and Barwon, currently held by former Shooter Fishers Farmers representatives now independents Helen Dalton and Roy Butler.

The Nationals are throwing a lot of energy into their candidates Peta Betts of Murray and Country Women's Association stalwart Annette Turner for Barwon.

In these areas the SFF promised something different but the party has proved to be so out of touch with its voters, that all three lower house MPs Dalton, Butler and Phil Donato at Orange became independents.

Butler has made his mark in Barwon, also the seat with the most distance to cover of any electorate.

But without the arm of the SFF behind him, will that be enough as Annette Turner, with the backing of The Nats, goes head to head?

The Nationals have also selected councillor Tony Mileto for the seat of Orange, but he's got a tough job ahead in shaking incumbent Phil Donato.

Meanwhile, The Greens have been working hard to put forward rural and regional candidates - which is more than we can say for Labor - some of which may even get a few bites at the polls.

They are passionate people who are well-liked in their regions for their community involvement.

This party is also proving that a Green vote is not just coming from the youth who believe the environmental message is hip, they are now attracting savvy business folk who are keen to see debate about climate change and carbon credits.

This could go in their favour.

However, once you start letting the Greens talk, just sit back and wait for the real "them" to show.

Behind some good ideas on the surface is some not so favourable attitudes towards agriculture.

And, the Green's party policies - no matter how nice the local candidate might seem - are bound to bite ag in the butt when legislation is being decided in Parliament.

What each of these parties and independent candidates are offering matters as much as ever.

The economy, job market, cost of living, access to labour and many other factors have shifted significantly since the previous state election, so come election day, voters will be asking themselves: 'am I better off than I was four years ago?'

Count night might offer up some surprises