Nell McGill expects to have more time and more resources at her disposal as she embarks on a second campaign to dethrone Pat Conroy as member for Shortland.
Prime Minister Scott Morrison unveiled the 41-year-old commercial litigation and insolvency lawyer on Monday as the Liberal candidate to contest next year's election in Shortland.
Ms McGill cut Mr Conroy's 9.9 per cent margin to 4.4 per cent at the 2016 election after a brief campaign on a shoestring budget.
"I think we are going to get more resources," she said after Mr Morrison helped to introduce her at a function at Kahibah Sports Club.
"We've already split the margin in half.
"I know the hill is higher to climb the closer you get, but I honestly feel there is that appetite in Shortland and the demographic is changing."
Ms McGill is fighting history in her attempt to unseat Mr Conroy. Labor has held Shortland since it was formed in 1949.
The 41-year-old said jobs and the cost of living would be at the centre of pre-election debate in the electorate and defended the Morrison government against criticism it had not adequately addressed traineeship and apprenticeship shortages.
"I think the government has a plan for apprenticeships. That was part of the COVID packaging," she said.
"The JobStarter and JobMaker programs, they were targeted at apprenticeships and also getting older workers into the workforce."
She said Shortland needed a "positive voice" and accused Mr Conroy of being overly negative about the region's economic prospects.
The Hunter seats of Shortland and Paterson are among 10 Labor holds in NSW on margins less than 5 per cent.
A survey of voting intentions commissioned late last year by building unions suggested Labor was on track to lose Shortland and Paterson.
The November 2020 poll showed Labor support collapsing in Paterson by 11 percentage points since the 2019 election to 30 per cent and by 13 percentage points to 28 per cent in Shortland.
The poll, which the CFMMEU used to try to oust Anthony Albanese, put the Liberal primary vote at 43 and 45 per cent respectively, though the Liberals treated the results with scepticism.
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