That means schools, roads, local government, health services and police numbers all have to be up to scratch.

When you consider recent history, its easy to see that the government needs to lift its game. Labor leader Luke Foley (pictured) and Maitland MP Jenny Aitchison seized on figures this week that show a serious backlog in school infrastructure funding, to the tune of $13.9 million in Maitland alone.

While Labor promised new public schools for Maitland ahead of the 2015 election, the Baird Government and former Education Minister Adrian Piccoli didnt believe new schools were needed.

Thats at odds with the clear demand that the Catholic Diocese of Maitland-Newcastle has seen, which has prompted new schools in Maitlands east and expansions of its existing facilities in the west.

Fairfax Media previously reported claims from the NSW Police Association that the Central Hunter command which encompasses Maitland and Cessnock is seriously understaffed.

It may be considered to be at operational capacity, but insiders believe that capacity simply isnt enough to cope with the workload which is only increasing.

The threat of council mergers has been a lingering distraction, particularly for Maitland City Council and Dungog Shire Council, the latter having found itself vulnerable because of an unusually large amount of roadway inside its council area. On the subject of roads, its a matter of time before Testers Hollow goes under again and no solution to the frequent flooding at Cessnock Road has been announced.

Meanwhile, its anyones guess when ground will be broken to build the new Lower Hunter Hospital at Metford let alone when it will take its first patient.

Recent broad changes to state government leadership namely a new Premier, Deputy Premier and Parliamentary Secretary for the Hunter, among some changes to key cabinet positions has put the Coalition in the box seat to right some wrongs in the way the Lower Hunter has been treated in recent years.

Ultimately, the state government owns a lot of the responsibility for making sure our services and infrastructure can cope with this regions growth.