So why have so many bum notes been struck as the party has been selling its regional relocation policy?

First it was the happy coincidence of the Australian Pesticides and Veterinary Medicines Authority being moved to a city, Armidale, within Deputy Prime Minister Barnaby Joyce’s own electorate.

Then it was the confusion and backtracking that followed Senator Fiona Nash’s announcement this week that government departments within Canberra would have to provide a justification for their continuing presence in the national capital.

Her boss, Mr Joyce, followed that up with an assurance that big departments like Taxation, Treasury or Finance wouldn’t be making the move – and neither would the Agriculture Department. Maybe.

"I don't think we will move the Agriculture Department. Let's put this one to bed. We won't move it out of Canberra ... there will be sections within the agricultural department that could be considered,” he said.

Convincing Nationals voters that moving bureaucrats to the bush is a good idea should be like convincing a millennial that going on an overseas trip is a good idea: it’s a self-evident truth.

The regional city that becomes the new home for the government department gets a secure employer to provide a solid foundation for the city’s economy and the bureaucrats that move get a relaxed country lifestyle and a cheaper house.

So what’s the problem, then?

One of the problems is that there has been a heavy-handedness – whether deliberate or accidental – about the policy so far. If the move is going to be good for both parties, the Canberra bureaucrats surely don’t have to be bludgeoned into it.

Which regional centre wants to be known as the place where the public servants were forced to go?

The second problem is that no city wants to give up its jobs – the jobs that move to Armidale (or Bathurst or Orange) are not new jobs, but jobs taken from a big city to benefit a smaller city.

That’s good policy, some will say. But how far does that argument go? Would Bathurst have any reason to complain if Land and Property Information was moved next month to much smaller, much more deserving Lithgow?

As with a lot of the big topics in politics, it’s complicated.