But while it is true most politicians begin their careers with noble intentions of serving the community, once elected it does not take long for petty party affairs to take over.

In that vein, the NSW Coalition government this week has done nothing to enhance the reputation of the political class.

A bill put forward on Wednesday by the Nationals MP for Barwon Kevin Humphries sought to have State Parliament throw its support behind the Federal government’s plans to upgrade freight rail infrastructure.

It should not have been a contentious bill as opposition MPs were ready to give their support.

But the final line of the four-point motion from Mr Humphries reduced the entire discussion to nonsense.

Point four of the bill asked that the House “acknowledges that the Liberals and The Nationals are the only parties able to deliver for regional NSW”.

It was as unnecessary as it was stupid and arrogant.

Naturally, the opposition wanted nothing to do with it and sought to amend point four to simply say “this House is supportive of inland rail as a transformative project for regional NSW”, but the government’s greater numbers saw the amendment voted down.

In the end, those same numbers saw the bill pass, and that’s where this fairly juvenile little episode would have ended if not for an even more juvenile press release from the office of Nationals leader John Barilaro on Thursday.

The press release claimed that by voting for the bill, the member for Orange Philip Donato and by extension any Shooters Fishers and Farmers Party member that runs in the next election had endorsed the Liberals and Nationals as the best parties to lead the state.

Of course, Mr Donato, crossbenchers and Labor Party MPs had done no such thing – they had merely supported an upgrade of freight rail infrastructure for the benefit of all constituents.

Donato and other Opposition parliamentarians decided to be the bigger men (and women) and not buy into the game, and they should be congratulated for that.

Cootamundra MP Steph Cooke has traversed the entire electorate since being elected. She is trying to establish a reputation of a hardworking and trustworthy MP, but these foolish games from the Nationals and Liberals will not help her argue her case.

The Nationals privately believe they are a shoo-in to regain the seat of Orange in 2019 and they are equally as bullish about the seat of Cootamundra, but by treating the voters as idiots, they may find themselves in for a fight at the ballot box.

The only conclusion that voters who are not rusted on Nationals may come to is that the Coalition is so on the nose in most of the state and federally that they are acting like insecure children and seeking validation any way they can, even with underhanded tactics.

It will be interesting to see, now that they have pulled this stunt, whether or not the Nationals will refer to point four of the bill at the election. 

If they do, it is a sad indication of how the Nationals and Liberals view the intelligence of the electorate. 

MPs are handsomely paid to serve their state in parliament rather than carry on like schoolboys and schoolgirls playing a silly game of “gotcha”. 

Mr Donato, crossbenchers and Labor Party MPs, and all NSW taxpayers deserve an apology.