Since the Bondi massacre, New South Wales politicians – unlike their federal colleagues – have mostly put aside their differences to pass new, tougher gun laws and to mourn.
But as the fog of grief lifts, NSW politics, known for its particularly robust style, is returning to business as usual.
On Tuesday the Liberal leader, Kellie Sloane, announced her new shadow cabinet lineup, which had been delayed by the tragedy.
It gives some guidance about her strategy for the next 15 months until the state election, and a glimpse of the challenges and pitfalls she may face.
Sloane, a first-term politician, took over the opposition leadership in November after the party became desperate.
The Minns Labor government is a minority government. On paper, that may make the government look vulnerable, but in practice it has a reasonably solid buffer in the form of a large crossbench.
The Coalition now has 35 seats to Labor’s 46. But the truly bad news for the Coalition has been the last two rounds of state polling by Resolve Strategic (echoed by the party’s own internal polling) that showed a primary vote of 28%.
If that result played out at the next election, it would result in the loss of a further 10 seats and would consign the NSW Coalition to opposition for another two terms – at least.
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Saving the silverware became the name of the game – and Sloane was the first step.
The next phase is renewal, with an eye to government – not next election, but the one after.
Sloane’s shadow cabinet introduces several new faces: Monica Tudehope, daughter of the right’s powerful Damien Tudehope (the new shadow attorney general); Jacqui Munro, who takes a junior environment and science role; and James Wallace, who takes on the tricky but important portfolio of industrial relations.
Chris Rath, who has both experience and youth, takes the all-important housing portfolio and will be a strong advocate for the Coalition staying on track when it comes to increasing housing in Sydney.
Expect to hear a lot about housing, families and the cost of living from the opposition in coming months.
There are new faces in the Nationals too, with Brendan Moylan, a lawyer from Moree, taking agriculture and the former leader Dugald Saunders bowing out.
If the new blood can prove themselves, it will provide a sharp contrast with Labor, which lacks a pipeline of new ambitious backbenchers and whose frontbench is starting to show the battle scars of being in government.
Sloane has also chosen to bring some of the loudest critics of the former leader Mark Speakman back inside the tent and ensure the right of the party remains on side.
This, and an overhaul of the party machinery last year, should help keep factional fighting at bay.
But there are still challenges.
The Coalition has to overhaul its policies, including on sensitive issues such as the environment, climate change, forestry and management of national parks.
During the past 12 months, the Nationals and Liberals split on several important issues, including a net zero target, which the Nationals now oppose, and issues such as the size of the great koala national park. They also split recently on gun control.
This has no real consequence in opposition but it raises a questions about what a Coalition government would stand for in government.
Would it weaken gun laws? Would it shrink the great koala national park? And would it continue with the energy roadmap, which has guided the rollout of renewables in NSW?
Sloane now faces the hard slog of policy. Will the public buy a NSW Liberal party which says it believes in tackling climate change and transitioning to renewables when 300km away, in Canberra, the federal Liberals are pooh-poohing this strategy?
And then there is the tiny issue of money. NSW is not as bad as Victoria when it comes to gross state debt but it is expected to rise to $177.2bn by June 2026.
That will likely mean selling the idea of more privatisation – perhaps flogging the existing metros – to fund more metro lines in the future.
Meanwhile, Chris Minns has only grown in stature and popularity with his handling of the events at Bondi through swift and pragmatic action and a promise of a royal commission.
• Anne Davies is Guardian Australia’s NSW state correspondent
