IN an era when telecommunications can make the tyranny of distance feel like more inconvenience than insurmountable obstacle, some may argue that NSW Premier Chris Minns' absence from the seat of Newcastle in his first year is a storm in a teacup.
It certainly would be if the Hunter were otherwise at the forefront of the government's mind, as it might expect when almost every electorate in the region is considered Labor heartland. Wallsend MP Sonia Hornery, for example, boasts one of the nation's most comfortable margins.
