Dugald Saunders, the 435th person I’ve met on my quest to have lunch with 500 strangers, had never thought about entering politics, until his state local member resigned and several people suggested Dugald should run to replace him.

That was in 2018. Today, Dugald is the Member for Dubbo and leader of the NSW Nationals, while he also holds the shadow portfolios for regional NSW, agriculture, natural resources and trade. He spends a lot of time travelling – to Sydney for parliamentary business; around the state to work on his shadow portfolios; and back to Dubbo, where he lives.

Dugald spent his early life in Mendooran, a small community 75km from Dubbo, before finishing his schooling in Sydney and then remaining in the city to build a media career. Years later, after marrying and having kids, Dugald and his wife decided to raise their children in the country, so they moved to Dubbo, where Dugald worked for ABC Radio.

In 2018, the local member, Troy Grant, announced that he would be stepping down at the 2019 election. After several in-depth talks with Grant – during which Dugald peppered him with every politics-related question imaginable – Dugald decided to put his hand up for preselection.

One reason Dugald wanted to enter politics was because of his conviction that people who live in the regions should have the same access to services as residents of the big cities. Dugald describes himself as a pragmatist – he’s resolute about getting results for his constituents but flexible about the methods.

But there’s a flip side to being results-driven. One of the hardest parts of Dugald’s job is having to disappoint people; he wants to solve every problem, but can’t.

Being in politics, Dugald says, is like running a small business – you’re the product and you have to constantly market it to voters. His media background was great preparation, not only because it made him an excellent speaker, but also because it gave him the ability to absorb and process information.The life of a politician involves long hours and constant grinding. Before I met Dugald in his office, he spoke in parliament; and after we finished chatting, he ran off to another meeting. When my local member, Tim James, eventually retires, I won’t be putting up my hand to replace him.