In the past week Labor has unveiled its candidates in Bathurst (police prosecutor Beau Riley) and Orange (small businessman Luke Sanger), and there were some clear similarities between their pitches.

Both candidates said the Berejiklian Government had turned its back on the bush and both highlighted the folly of the government’s expensive Sydney stadiums policy as proof the Coalition did not care about regional voters.

Both candidates also promised a Labor Government would bring a renewed focus to education funding across the state, including a major boost to TAFE.

But another similarity between the campaign launches – one that was not highlighted in their press releases -was the notable absence of Labor leader Luke Foley.

Mr Sanger was introduced to the electorate by Orange duty MLC Peter Primrose while Mr Riley fared somewhat better, at least enticing deputy Labor leader Michael Daley to Bathurst for his debut in front of the media.

Both Mr Primrose and Mr Daley are senior Labor officials but neither is the boss. And while it might not be the party’s leader job to introduce every new candidate, it was hard not to wonder if Mr Foley was deliberately keeping a low profile.

For the past few months the opinion polls in NSW have shown Mr Foley to be a real chance of winning the election next March, a prospect that would have seemed laughable at the start of the year.

But his chances have taken a real hit over the past fortnight as he has fended off accusations made under parliamentary privilege by Corrections Minister David Elliott that Mr Foley had harassed an ABC journalist while drunk at a Sydney bar in 2016.

It was an appalling abuse of privilege by Mr Elliott but while Mr Foley says he recalls the night in question and has denied the accusation, his own response in parliament did him little credit.

While labelling the claim a smear, Mr Foley ceded any high ground he might have had by apparently threatening to expose some government MPs’ own secrets or shortcomings.

If that’s the tone both sides of politics intend to take in the lead up to March then we’re all in for a long few months.