While Mrs Hazelton, a mother of three, still has to be formally endorsed by party members at a meeting in Orange on February 2, she was in full election mode on Tuesday, declaring she was ready to fight.

She said the member for Orange Phil Donato could not deliver the community’s needs because he was not a member of the government.

“He’s everywhere, but he does nothing. He can’t bring everything to the table,” she said.

Mr Donato said he expected Mrs Hazelton would be a “formidable opponent” but said she would be restricted by Coalition policies that were Sydney-centric.

“At the end of the day Mrs Hazelton will still be required to toe the party line,” he said.

“And we’ve seen over the last few years the type of things the Liberal-National government has implemented and supported, and a lot of it is not to the benefit of regional NSW.”

Mr Donato said he did not need to be part of the government to be effective.

“You do not need to be a member of the government or have a seat at the table – the fictitious table they talk about – to get things delivered,” he said.

“What you need is someone who’s prepared to stand up, speak out and represent their communities.”

Mrs Hazelton said she was opposed to many Nationals policies that helped Mr Donato win the seat in the 2017 byelection.

“I didn’t agree with banning greyhounds or amalgamating councils, I was quite outspoken about that because it involved our communities,” she said.

“I had friends who had a greyhound business and they were going to suffer really badly.

“And the same with the councils, if we had all amalgamated that way we would have all been too centralised.

“I probably would have crossed the floor, quite honestly, because I believe in standing up for the community.

“I’m not going to just listen to what the party line always says.

“No, if people in my electorate want certain issues to be brought to attention then I will stand up for them.”