He secured an unprecedented $1.5 billion worth of help for the state's drought-stricken farmers but relentless backlash from keyboard warriors, a pile of dead fish and a death threat proved too much.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
Niall Blair, who has been NSW Primary Industries Minister since 2015 and also served as Minister for Regional Water and Minister for Trade and Industry, revealed this week that he would not continue in the roles.
It had been "the best job in the world" but the tirade of abuse since the fish kills in the Murray Darling Basin in December and January have taken a huge toll on him, and his wife and son.
The barrage was so fierce and unrelenting that a bucket of dead fish was poured onto the ground outside his office in Sydney, and he was forced to shut down his Facebook page in a bid to stop the abuse.
It was a shocking series of events for a man who responded to The Mercury's plea for help in February last year when Hunter farmers were battling severe drought.
He met with farmers and The Mercury and went back to Sydney to meet with key government ministers, including Premier Gladys Berejiklian, to put forward a plan to assist.
The drought-stricken state quickly became his daily focus. He felt responsible for supporting the people who put food on our tables as they battled the conditions on the front line.
His decision has rocked the farming community and sparked a flow of tributes of admiration, shock and sadness. Three prominent farming figures The Mercury spoke to agreed it was unfair, and unproductive, for disgruntled people to viciously target any minister who was trying their best to provide support and solutions.
This isn't the end to Mr Blair's political career though. He will continue his role in the Legislative Council and says he will still be doing what he can to fight back against the drought because after all, it's not over yet.
A country bloke with a love for agriculture
Niall Blair's a country bloke through and through.
He's most at home on a farm chatting to the people who put food on our tables and hearing their thoughts about the changes they need to survive and thrive, usually with a cuppa in hand and a biscuit or two.
He was a minister who preferred to conduct his farm visits without a media entourage because the people he was going to see deserved his full attention and had been through enough.
When he came to the Hunter in February last year, after The Mercury wrote to him about the drought-stricken region, it was no different. He wanted the farmers to tell him how the drought was biting, and what he could do to help.
Then it was back in the car to go to Sydney to put his case to NSW Premier Gladys Berejiklian, then deputy premier John Barilaro and then treasurer Dominic Perrottet.
The initial $20,000 drought transport loan, announced in April, transformed into a detailed assistance package that was announced in June. Extra measures were added in July. In total, $1.5 billion worth of drought-support was secured in less than one year.
"I always got a good hearing with the premier and the deputy premier and treasurer about this," he said.
"The beauty about our government is that we have members right across the board, so it wasn't just me that was coming back and saying "hey, listen, we're in a bit of trouble in the bush".
You can't just go to them with a problem, you have to go with solutions and that's what we had to turn our mind to pretty quickly. This has been a whole of government response, I've been very thankful that every minister and every agency has also been willing to help.
Devastating drought became Blair's life
Mr Blair, a property owner himself, said the drought pulled at his heart strings and he quickly became immersed in the issue and felt responsible for the people he was trying to help.
It became way more than a job, it was his life, and it saddened him that he couldn't make it rain, which was what farmers needed most.
"I would sit at my place and look out over my paddocks that were dry - and I don't rely on my place for an income, and you think that it's bad, and you go to a farmer's place and it's worse and then you go to someone else's place and it's worse again," he said.
You become obsessed with looking at the weather radar and the weather forecast, you become obsessed with trying to find solutions and sometimes you can also feel helpless when there's nothing you can do to stop it.
"There's no doubt it's tough because you feel like everyone's counting on you - there is extra responsibility and you can't help but take on the stories and the challenges that you see.
"You know that people are hurting and you've got to do something to help. That becomes more than a job, it actually becomes your life - you can't stop thinking about it.
"You become responsible for the response and that's why we've worked so hard to try and get that.
The other thing is it becomes frustrating because you might come to Sydney and it has been pouring with rain and people forget, they forget so quickly, and the media forget quickly and Sydney forgets quickly and that's frustrating too.
Farm visits revealed optimism and hardship
His visits to farms across the state uncovered circumstances where some farmers had been well prepared while others had been caught off-guard. He saw experienced farmers struggling to make decisions - what he called decision paralysis, and that was something very unusual for them. He said it was one of the things that shook him the most.
He organised weekly briefings with the NSW Department of Primary Industries and other agencies for up to date information and looked at the data to play out different scenarios.
What if it rains? What if it doesn't rain? What if this town runs out of water? You have to try to be one step ahead, and that's difficult, but we needed to be quick with our responses and you only do that by being on top of the situation and having some alternatives,
- Mr Blair said
Tirade of abuse after fish kills
Fish kills in the Murray Darling Basin in December and January was the catalyst for unwavering abuse from online trolls. There were many factors for the deaths, including the ongoing drought which had led to a lack of water in the system.
His Facebook page became an easy target for people to voice their abuse and in February a bucket of dead fish was dropped outside his office in Sydney. A death threat was the final straw.
The abuse soon became too much and had a profound affect on his professional and personal life. The impact didn't stop there, it also affected his wife Mel and son Lachlan.
Some time ago he told NSW Nationals leader, and then deputy premier, John Barilaro that he did not want to serve as a minister if the Coalition secured a third term in government. He kept his decision private so it did not cause a stir or hamper the government's chances of re-election.
He said the state needed a minister who could "give 100 per cent every day" and stand with farmers and support them in their drought fight.
"I couldn't guarantee that I could do that for the next four years so it's better to be honest about that now and put my hand up and let someone else have a go," he said.
There has been challenges at other times with other reforms and other decisions but there is absolutely no doubt that the main level of challenge came with the fish kills.
"It hasn't changed the water situation, it's disappointing, and what it does is tarnish the good people who are out there doing what they need to do to support our regional communities.
"Unfortunately that is something we face now and I'm a public figure and I understand that, it's just disappointing. People were hurting and they needed someone to blame and that was probably me because I turned up.
"It is tough when there is a drought, it's complex and you have to make a decision in the best interest of NSW, you can't just pick one valley over another, you have to have a holistic view and that is a real challenge."