ALL campaigning politicians are forced to walk a fine line between buying off the electorate without being caught out doing just that.
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Any campaign is a festival of spending as the candidates try to outdo each other with their promises on how they intend to return to us the money we have paid out to the government in our taxes.
It could be increased investment in such services as health, education and transport, or tax cuts for workers.
Or it could be through those community grants in the tens of thousands that serve the useful purpose of a smiling photo opportunity for the local press.
Naturally, it is the incumbent MPs that can make the most of these grants with many announcements seemingly timed to fall in the last month or so before voters go to the polls. That's certainly what we've seen from Calare MP Andrew Gee over the past fortnight or so.
The flipside is that Mr Gee risks people not knowing who he is, while Mr Donato risks people becoming sick of the sight of him.
In his time in politics, Mr Gee has kept much of the local media at arm's length, apparently not convinced he needs to foster a relationship with many sections of the media in order to get across his plans for the electorate.
But the moment Prime Minister Scott Morrison named an election date, there was a change.
In the past 10 days has once again started to invite the Central Western Daily to funding announcements in and around Orange.
By comparison, recently re-elected member for Orange Phil Donato runs such a tight schedule of media announcements that there is barely a week goes by without one or two invitations for the local press.
He does not wait until an election is called; instead, he takes every chance he can to show voters where their money is going (while never missing the photo opportunity, of course).
So, who does it better? Mr Gee clearly thinks it's better for him to stay out of public view wherever possible while Mr Donato wants his face to be seen at every possible turn.
The flipside is that Mr Gee risks people not knowing who he is, while Mr Donato risks people becoming sick of the sight of him.
So which is better? Well, it's hard to say - and certainly their election results suggest both approaches have their merits. To each their own.
It's up to the voters to decide which approach they trust the most.
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