Tamworth electorate could be in Shooters, Fishers and Farmers' sights at March state election

That's according to upper house representative Mark Banasiak, who visited the region on Tuesday, to consult with Tamworth community groups and check up on progress at the Gunnedah Hospital.

The Shooters Fishers and Farmers MLC said the state electorate could well prove winnable for the party at next year's election, set to be held in March.

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"The right candidate, that's always the thing," he told the Leader.

"If you've got the right candidate, and there's the right set of issues I see that any seat's winnable. When we run, we run serious, we don't just do it for kicks of do it for numbers."

Mr Banasiak said Tamworth had "always been a seat that we've been interested in".

The Shooters, Fishers and Farmers MP said the party was concerned with the progress of Gunnedah's $53 million new hospital build.

He said he visited the region to make sure it wouldn't become "Banksia 2.0". Mr Banasiak also met with fishing, medical, ratepayers and other local groups.

"We've been approached about Gunnedah hospital [by the community]," he said.

"There's similar concerns, in terms of transparency, whether this is going to be fit for purpose ...

"People of Tamworth and Gunnedah deserve a bit more than freshly-laid linoleum floor and some paint."

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Gunnedah mayor Jamie Chaffey declared last month the hospital was "going backwards" in the new build, shrinking from 48 to just 30 beds.

The party won third place in Tamworth at the 2019 election, with candidate Jeff Bacon finishing just behind independent candidate Mark Rodda. Incumbent Kevin Anderson won the contest without the need for preferences, with 55 per cent of the primary vote.

But the rural party managed to defeat the Nationals in the neighbouring electorate of Barwon, evicting the party from the once ultra-safe seat for the first time since the 50s. The government also lost the seats of Orange, Wagga Wagga and Murray before or at the 2019 election.

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Mr Banasiak wouldn't be drawn on whether the party would back a Liberal or Labor MP to be premier in case of a hung parliament.

"It would come down to a quite a few factors: what can we get for our electorates; what can we get for our constituents; who's going to be the best premier and government to work with to get what's best for our constituents and best for our electorates. That's what it comes down to.

"We're elected to represent those people and if we back someone that we can't work with then they won't deliver for our electorates and constituents so that's sort of self defeating"

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