After spending two years going to war with local communities across the state as local government minister, the Bathurst MP is now in a role where groups might actually welcome seeing him.

Despite his personal belief in the value of forced council amalgamations, Mr Toole is not a man who seeks out conflict and it can’t always have been easy to be in a position where he was Public Enemy #1 in areas such as Oberon and Cabonne.

Now he has left the local government portfolio the mergers policy has been largely dumped by his successor – to cheers in affected council areas – and Mr Toole finds himself in a similar position as he goes around the state trying to restore confidence in the government’s commitment to the future of greyhound racing.

While the fallout from the proposed ban on greyhound racing played a large role in seeing former racing minister Troy Grant and premier Mike Baird were hounded [pun intended] from their jobs, Mr Toole instead is in the happier position of splashing government cash around in a bid to shore up the industry.

This week he announced a $41 million package designed to improve confidence in the industry through providing greater powers to weed out the bad operators.

Among the proposed reforms are an enforceable code of practice for greyhound welfare; CCTV cameras at all public and certain private tracks;·whole-of-life registration and tracking of greyhounds; tougher penalties for animal welfare abuses, including for live baiting; an accreditation scheme for industry participants; and strict controls on euthanasia.

As always, the proof of the pudding will be in the eating and while the package has attracted some criticism – in particular from Shooter, Fishers and Farmers Party senator Robert Borsak – there appears to be some acknowledgment that this is a step in the right direction.

The industry has not got everything it wants [Mr Borsak continues to push for a new inter-code deed] but greyhound supporters must recognise that Mr Toole’s package is a world away from the proposed ban that was in place just 12 months ago.

It is in their interests to work with the government to make the reforms work.

And when Mr Toole attends his next greyhound meeting, he might even be welcomed with open arms.