Ms Berejiklian and Minister for Regional Water Niall Blair visited the towns on Sunday to speak to the local councillors and council staff.

In Coonabarabran the politicians were shown the eight emergency bores that were installed last year to supply the town with water during periods without rain. 

“For me, this was a chance to come down and see for myself what good planning results in, but also to look at some of the ideas people have for the future,” the Premier said.

“A lot of farmers are quite realistic about what they’re going through and just want to make sure the infrastructure is there to support them going forward.

“That’s really what this visit has been about, its about looking at what’s put in place and the success that’s happening but also thinking about how we can invest more into other infrastructure for the future.”

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The town is currently on Level 5 water restrictions and Warrumbungle Shire Council has asked residents to be mindful of their water consumption.

Mr Blair said while the bores were a good measure to get through the current water shortage, other long-term solutions needed to be considered, such as raising the Timor Dam wall.

The dam is currently at 19.4 per cent capacity.

“Why the state’s going well, while we’ve been able to invest $1 billion into our Safe and Secure Water Program we can spend that on infrastructure that communities like Coonabarabran need to make sure they don’t just get by they can actually thrive and expand into the future,” he said.

“Very much we’ve helped the council to get through this tough period we now want to see how we can drought proof this community for the future. That’s what we’re willing to work with council to try and achieve.”

During the visit to Coonabarabran Ms Berejiklian said she was happy to hear about farmers saving money by not having to pay the land service levy on their rates, thanks to the drought package, or not having to pay $1000 on registration on farm lorries.

“We know that’s not going to help the water issue but at least we know we’re helping the farmers, we’re easing the pressure on them during this time,” she said.

The Premier said the people she spoke to were being very realistic about the drought and had been honest about what measures would and wouldn’t work.

Mr Blair said Coonabarabran had already had 50 millimetres of rain since the start of the year. The weather was starting to resemble a normal pattern, compared to what it had been in the last few years, he said.