Mike Baird made a surprise visit to one of the government's most marginal electorates on Tuesday morning, the seat of Monaro in southern NSW, which hangs by a margin of 2 per cent.

And he was there to make a very marginal announcement: $60,000 for renovations to the Queanbeyan Basketball Centre.

The photo opp at the home courts of the Division 1 state league team, the  Queanbeyan Yowies, was improved greatly by the unexpected looming presence of the team mascot.

Mistaken by most out-of-town reporters for Chewbacca from the Star Wars movies, the mascot nodded in the background as the Premier and local basketball association president Jan Browne soberly consulted blueprints of the new centre for the cameras.

Baird showed he was no slouch on the court, sinking a three-pointer. It was during a game in which he was joined by local MP John Barilaro and members of the press gallery against members of the under-18 Roadrunners. The visitors were trounced.

Town and country

Living in the electorate. It seems an article of faith among political devotees.

Ben Franklin, the National Party state director, was banging on about it last April when he secured the top spot on his party's upper house ticket.

"I think it is utterly disingenuous to represent the National Party and not live in a rural area," he told the DailyTelegraph.

Now, nearly 12 months later, Franklin informed the NSW Electoral Commission that he lives in Kirribilli. His address appears on the commission's website as provided by party officials registering the Coalition Legislative Council ticket.

The Greens MLC Jeremy Buckingham was happy to point out the difference between Franklin's words and actions.

"What hypocrisy. The Nationals are starting to bulk up with Liberals in RMs. Franklin was once president of the Young Liberals, Andrew Gee (Nat, Orange) was another Young Lib. These city blokes can't get Lib preselection, so they've gone bush."

Franklin took umbrage at such a slur: "My great, great uncle was Banjo Paterson. And I will move to the north coast immediately after the election."

Hustings to hospital

The battle for Tamworth shapes as an unofficial referenda on coal seam gas and coal mining with the independent and former member Peter Draper attracting a lot of support from disaffected National voters.

So much in fact, that the Nats have sent two operatives up from Sydney to help their incumbent, Kevin Anderson, keep Draper at bay.

But Draper's campaign was interrupted when he "had a turn" while on the hustings at Niangala.

"Thankfully I was out of hospital within 24 hours with no ill effects," Draper said.

He climbed back on the campaign, doing television interviews, advertisements and even popped down to the local electoral commission office to lodge his candidate nomination.

"I'm fit and healthy, ready to go," he said.

The water diviner

Liberal MP Glenn Brookes, already under scrutiny for his unorthodox campaign of gifting water bottles to voters, has been forced to deny they are being bankrolled by a convicted money launderer.

Fairfax Media recently revealed the East Hills MP had been referred to the Electoral Commission for his campaign tactic of distributing bottles of water bearing an image of his face.

Labor dobbed Brookes in, claiming he may have violated election law. Some local businesses had taken to selling the gifted water bottles for $2 a pop; one chicken shop had nearly 10 boxes.

Now, an errant email from Brookes' campaign manager shows the company that manufactures the bottles has been invoicing a local charity: The Australian Multicultural Christian Society Incorporated.

It was founded by Carl Trad, a Bankstown identity and car dealer who spent more than three years in prison in the mid '90s for larceny and laundering proceeds of an alleged police drug deal sting.

Brookes said it was all a mistake.

"The water bottle provider inadvertently issued an incorrect invoice," Brookes said.

The mistake arose, Brookes explained, after he sent 3000 bottles to a local Christmas Carols event run by the charity. The manufacturer presumed they had been ordered by the charity but sent the invoice to Brookes' Liberal campaign address.

One more time

Bill Shorten wandered into the NSW election campaign for a second time on Tuesday.

Having served as Luke Foley's warm up for Labor's campaign launch nine days ago, the federal Labor leader joined the NSW Opposition Leader for a tour of St George Hospital in Kogarah.

Foley predicted NSW voters would see a lot more of Shorten during the remaining weeks of the campaign than they would  Prime Minister Tony Abbott.

Find out about your state seat using our election interactive: <a href="/interactive/2015/nsw-election/electorates/electorates.html?el=Monaro" _rte_href="/interactive/2015/nsw-election/electorates/electorates.html?el=Monaro">Key facts on NSW electorates</a>