And yet the Queen and her NSW representative, Governor Marie Bashir, are seeing new faces, but not new substance.

This week the new Cabinet was chosen after the spectacular ousting of former premier Nathan Rees in favour of Kristina Keneally.

Many ministers have held on to their jobs - Eric Roozendaal is still treasurer, Carmel Tebbutt is still health minister and John Hatzistergos retains the role of attorney-general.

The more significant announcements are the return of those Mr Rees dumped in an effort to hold on to the leadership.

Frank Sartor, just last week rearing for the leadership, is back on the front bench.

The story of Mr Rees’s spectacular dumping of Ian Macdonald from the ministry just a few weeks ago has a new chapter.

Mr Macdonald is Ms Keneally’s Minister for State and Regional Development and Minister for Mineral and Forest Resources.

We have our new ministry - but will they bring ideas and dedication to their portfolios for the next 15 months, when they face the people, or do they feel secure because they are the powerbrokers’ choice?

Ms Keneally emerged on top after the leadership spill last week, but you could hardly say she emerged triumphant.

She was immediately labelled a “puppet” of right-wing powerbrokers Joe Tripodi and Eddie Obeid - the party’s supposed duty MLC for Dubbo, but it seems like he has other matters besides this city on his mind.

And anyone who felt triumphant on taking over the governing of NSW does not deserve to be there, because we are not in good shape.

Ms Keneally verged perilously close to this on her first day as premier when she said there was “much to be proud of” in NSW including literacy and numeracy results, emergency room departments and public transport.

Ms Keneally has said she was her own person, and she no doubt meant it.

But she can only be her own person for as long as it coincides with what Mr Tripodi and Mr Obeid want.

If she differs from them she’ll be her own person, but not the Premier of NSW.

Those powerbrokers know they have until March 2011 to do what they will with the leadership, and I’m not sure they would risk another leadership change - the third overthrow in four years - before that time.

And that’s a big part of the problem, the Labor party can go on acting disgracefully because they know exactly when they have to face the people.

The fixed, four-year term is contributing to poor government in NSW.

NSW Governments can never feel pressured by a lack of public confidence into calling an election, and that removes them from us, the people they are supposed to serve.

Before the 2007 election we received a new premier when Bob Carr resigned and Mr Iemma became the leader.

The Labor party could attempt to present the image of a fresh start with Ms Keneally, but the electorate shouldn’t fall for this.

At the next election, voters in NSW will have to make sure they’re pulling the strings in deciding who will govern us.