In February last year, the state government announced they would fully fund the Muswellbrook Bypass and committed $266 million to the project; two months later the completion of the $21.5 million Muswellbrook Hospital Redevelopment stage 2 was celebrated.

But, the next 12 months are unlikely to be quite as eventful.

That's not to say nothing will be getting done though, as Mr Johnsen is prioritising the progress of projects which are already ongoing.

Bypasses will likely be the main focus, with Scone's new $137 million piece of infrastructure set to be open before mid-year, and further funds expected to be freed up for further planning on the Muswellbrook version, which isn't scheduled for construction until 2022.

Murrurundi's Wilson Memorial Community Hospital and Scone's Scott Memorial Hospital will continue to be upgraded, with money having been set aside for them in previous budgets.

As for Muswellbrook Hospital Upgrade stage 3, the situation is a little less clear, with the MP stating it is a priority of his but falling short of pledging that he will be able to support it financially this year.

"I'm not going to make any promises on timelines or anything like that because I can't, I'm not in a position to make promises on that," he said.

"But, it is a focus so I want to make sure we get that funding, and the sooner we can get it in, the sooner we can get it done."

Another sizeable task over the coming years will be the redevelopment of Kelly Street in Scone, which is set to receive a facelift after the bypass is complete.

A sum of $7 million was committed to the project in the 2019-20 NSW Budget, although Mr Johnsen admits a large portion of that will be used just to deal with road and drainage issues.

But, the obstacle causing the most concern is how the CBD will survive throughout what is set to be a lengthy construction stage.

The member, who is the former Upper Hunter Shire Council mayor, said the survival of store and restaurant owners has to be at the forefront of everyone's mind during planning.

"When it gets upgrades, you've got to do it being sympathetic to businesses because we don't want businesses to suffer any more than they may have to," he stated.

"That's going to be a longer term thing that we are still working on, and we're going to continue to work on and whatever funding that I can get for council to assist that, then I will do."

Fighting past "internal bureaucracy" to obtain permission for more back-burning is something else Mr Johnsen will pour effort into in 2020.

"I have people come back at me from internal agencies and give me all the reasons under the sun why things can't happen, that is completely against the lived experience of people on the ground," he said.

"Well I'm saying it's about time they stop giving us bureaucratic excuses, and work with the community and stop these things [bushfires] from happening again."

A bill regarding the powers of the Independent Planning Commission (IPC) is something he will keep an eye on too, with the parliamentary secretary for Agriculture looking to strip them of their ability to take 'scope 3 emissions' into consideration.

The term refers to a situation when the IPC attempts to determine the environmental damage or impacts that exports, such as coal, may have on another country.

As one of the orchestrators behind the proposed legislation, he will be a strong backer of it, as will Pauline Hanson's One Nation's Mark Latham, who declared his support for it last year.