Hard to get the Premier's attention? Well life's like that in regional New South Wales

On 5 February 2010 The Daily Examiner proudly announced:

TODAY four North Coast mayors and the region's three main newspapers start a combined campaign to get much-needed improvements to the Pacific Highway accelerated. Clarence Valley Mayor Richie Williamson, Coffs Harbour Mayor Keith Rhoades, Richmond Valley Mayor Col Sullivan and Ballina Mayor Phil Silver yesterday sent letters to the NSW Premier Kristina Keneally and Opposition Leader Barry O'Farrell inviting them on a highway road trip between Coffs Harbour and Ballina - a road most of us travel regularly.
It is the first step in what is likely to be an ongoing campaign to get the government to rethink its highway priorities and it is a campaign that has the strong support of this newspaper, the Coffs Harbour-based Coffs Coast Advocate and the Lismore-based Northern Star.
It is rare - most likely unprecedented - that four mayors and three daily newspapers have banded together to support a single issue and illustrates the level of concern in the region about preventable highway deaths.
Late last year the NSW Government told us there were no major upgrades planned for the area between just north of Coffs Harbour and just south of Ballina for at least the next five years because it was focusing on areas with higher traffic volumes and where pre-planning work had been done.

I'm sure a resounding cheer went up at breafast tables all over the North Coast that morning.

Five days later Premier Keneally had passed the ball to one of her ministers and the editor was reporting:

THIS is a transcript of part of a conversation yesterday between a Daily Examiner journalist and a representative of the NSW Minister for State and Regional Development, Ian Macdonald.
The representative was responding to an invitation the mayors of Coffs Harbour, Clarence Valley, Richmond Valley and Ballina sent to the Premier, Kristina Keneally, to travel the Pacific Highway between Coffs Harbour and Ballina to see its condition for themselves.
Mr Macdonald was responding on behalf of the premier.
Reporter: "And he'll do the tour?"
Spokesperson: "He'll be doing that with the mayors, wouldn't he?"
Reporter: "Yeah, they're doing a drive from Coffs to Ballina. That's the idea, to highlight the problem areas."
Spokesperson: "Coffs to Ballina, that's, what, 18km?"
Reporter: "No, it's a reasonable drive ... about two-and-a-half hours. That was the thrust of the invitation, so they (the leaders) can see for themselves how bad it is."
Spokesperson: "Oh, it's a drive."
We don't want to crucify this spokesperson; they were trying to do their best to answer our inquiries. They may have just moved from interstate with little knowledge of the region.
Certainly the minister has a better understanding of the geography of the area after being here a number of times
But the exchange helps illustrate how difficult it can be to get the message across to political leaders about what is needed on the highway.
And it also illustrates why it is so important to get ministers and the premier here first hand to see the highway's condition and not rely on the advice of staffers.
'Coffs to Ballina, that's, what, 18km?'

According to yet another article it appears that the NSW Leader of the Opposition is overseas at present - what is your excuse for staying away Ms. Keneally?