Millions of NSW voters will head to the polls on Saturday in what’s shaping up to be the tightest state election in decades.
Around 5.5 million voters will cast their vote at polling booths across the state.
Premier Dominic Perrottet hopes the Coalition will remain in power for a historic consecutive fourth term and he continues as the state’s 46th premier.
But he has a tough battle on his hands with NSW Labor leader Chris Minns the odds-on favourite to become just the third party leader since World War II to win from opposition.
Cost of living, education and health are some of the big issues spruiked by both leaders in a desperate bid to convince voters they’re the best man to lead NSW for the next four years.
Daily Mail Australia invited both leaders to make one final pitch to voters before they head to the polls this weekend.
Dominic Perrottet hopes to remain the 46th NSW Premier. He’s pictured with wife Helen and his youngest child Celeste
NSW Labor Leader Chris Minns was joined by his wife Anna during a campaign visit to the Sydney suburb of Eastwood on Friday
NSW Premier Dominic Perrottet
Only the Liberals and Nationals have the long-term economic plan to support NSW families and keep NSW moving forward at a time when we understand no family can afford to go backwards under Labor.
In these uncertain economic times, NSW families need a government that can deliver real relief today, and financial security tomorrow.
Only we have the experience, big ideas and energy to guarantee that support for families today and set our state up for a stronger future.
We have the proven track record and strong economic management to protect you from Labor’s cuts and the economic risks ahead.
Our plan to support you and your family includes:
Taking pressure off household budgets
We know that households and families are feeling the pinch of higher inflation and higher interest rates.
That’s why we will put more money back in the pockets of NSW families.
For example, we will deliver $250 off every household’s energy bill. Labor won’t do this, they will instead cut out more than half of Western Sydney’s families from accessing $250 in energy savings.
We will also deliver cost relief for commuters by cutting the weekly Opal card cap from $50 to $40 for adults and from $25 to $20 for concession holders. Labor has opposed this policy and that means public transport costs will be higher under Labor.
Weekly savings on fares from the Liberal and Nationals will put cash back in the pockets of everyone who uses public transport regularly – for a family of two adults and two kids, it’s an annual saving of nearly $1,400 a year in the household budget.
We will also provide toll relief for drivers who use our world-class motorways. With our plan, half a million drivers across NSW can get up to $750 back on tolls.
On childcare, families can save up to $4,220 a year with our Affordable Preschool policy, and our $5 billion Affordable and Accessible Childcare fund is creating thousands more low-cost childcare places across NSW.
Our $150 Back to School Vouchers (which families can still claim) and our $500 Before and After School Care Voucher offer real bankable savings to cover costs we know families have to meet.
Our $100 First Lap Vouchers, $200 in Active Kids Vouchers, and $100 in Creative Kids Vouchers also allow every child in NSW to learn to swim, play a sport, and learn an instrument or other creative activity.
Premier Dominic Perrottet (right) met Quakers Hill first home buyer Arvind Ramakkrishnan and daughter Samirddhi in Sydney’s west on Wednesday
Increasing home ownership
One of the biggest challenges for younger generations is home ownership, and our plan does things differently to help you own a first home faster, by getting rid of stamp duty.
Say you want to buy a home for $900,000. Our plan allows you to pay no stamp duty and choose an annual fee instead, saving around $35,000 upfront, and cutting years off the time it takes to save a deposit. It’s a choice we are offering on homes all the way up to $1.5 million.
This choice won’t be available under Labor – they have promised to take it away. A re-elected Liberals and Nationals government won’t just keep it, we’ll extend it even further so that, as your needs change, you can choose to pay no stamp duty not just on your first home, but on your dream home too.
Accessing more health services at your local pharmacy
Our plan for healthcare is also about doing things differently to get better outcomes. Right around Australia, it’s clear that the same old policies being tried in Labor states (and promised by the opposition in NSW) cannot fix the nation-wide issues in health caused by the pandemic.
The Liberals and Nationals are the only team offering new solutions that can actually make a difference.
Imagine being able to pop into your local pharmacy to get common prescriptions, vaccinations and other routine health services, all without having to visit a GP.
Or if you need care that can’t wait for a GP appointment, but it isn’t drastic enough to require an emergency department, imagine being able to go to a dedicated urgent care clinic instead.
That’s what a re-elected Liberals and Nationals government will deliver with our pharmacy reforms and 25 urgent care clinics across NSW, all while building 130 new hospitals and health facilities.
Not only will you have more options for fast, convenient care, our plan will ease pressure on hospitals and reduce waiting time for GPs, creating faster, better care for everyone in NSW.
Setting kids up for success with savings accounts of up to $49,000
Young people in NSW need a government with a plan that offers them financial security, education and the skills they will need to succeed.
The Liberals and Nationals are making one of the biggest ever financial security investments in our state’s young people with our NSW Kids Future Fund accounts: long-term savings accounts for every child born in NSW.
Each account will start with $400 from the Government. Parents and grandparents can make contributions each year, and we will match those contributions up to $400 a year.
When the child turns 18, they could have up to $49,000 saved, to put towards education costs and housing. This life-changing reform is opposed by Labor.
To help you secure the education and skills you need for a rewarding career, we’re offering 120,000 fee-free TAFE and training places, and giving regional students hip-pocket help with a $250 regional travel card.
And only the Liberals and Nationals have a real plan for education to prepare our young people for future success.
We are getting the school curriculum back to basics, and we will also introduce the biggest education reform in a generation: a new full free year of pre-kinder education.
It will give NSW children a proven advantage in the careers and opportunities available to them later in life, and it will also deliver huge savings and more freedom for families in the short term.
Dominic Perrottet (right) announced a NSW Kids Future Fund – a long-term savings accounts for every child born in NSW – as one of his election pledges
Forwards with the Liberals and Nationals, not backwards under Labor
In an environment of high inflation, rising interest rate rises, and global uncertainty, it would be disastrous to take NSW’s resilience for granted, yet that’s what our opponents are doing.
Labor is making unfunded promises of public sector spending, which is why they have committed to taking away the Liberals and Nationals’ family savings measures, and cancelling projects like metros in Western Sydney.
Labor’s wrong priorities will slam the brakes on our state’s progress, killing our momentum and making challenging times even harder.
The people of NSW can’t afford to go backwards, and only the Liberals and Nationals have a long-term economic plan to keep moving forward.
That’s the choice at this election, and the outcome will have a very real impact on the lives and livelihoods of the people of NSW.
NSW Labor Leader Chris Minns
Only NSW Labor has a plan to deliver real cost-of-living relief.
Whether you’re starting out in life, raising a family, planning your retirement or looking to take advantage of the opportunities ahead, I want your future to be the best it can be.
I know first hand just how lucky we are to live in New South Wales. But this is not as good as it gets.
After 12 years under the Liberals, life is becoming increasingly difficult for many.
Tolls are up, energy bills are up and yet wages are stagnating.
Meanwhile, education standards are falling, hospitals are crumbling and our essential services are nearing breaking point.
The good news is that there is a better way. The Labor Party I lead is the only party with a plan to address NSW’s cost-of-living crisis, improve our education standards and repair our essential services.
Real action on cost of living
NSW has a cost-of-living crisis. And it’s only getting worse. If Dominic Perrottet and the Liberals are given four more years in power, things won’t improve.
Premier Perrottet’s privatisations have smashed hard working families with extra costs from every direction.
Power prices have increased, and a big part of that increase has gone towards private companies’ superprofits.
Private tolls are now everywhere, making Sydney the most tolled city in the world.
Under the Liberals, Sydney and Hunter Water will be next. Our state cannot afford any more privatisations, and neither can yours.
Selling off Sydney Water will add up to $269 to the average household water bill, a figure likely to increase once inflation and population growth is factored in.
The Liberals’ fixation with privatisation has cost us all.
NSW Labor has a strong plan to address cost-of-living concerns. We’ll bring in a weekly toll cap, an Energy Relief Fund to bring down bills and we can promise we won’t privatise more state assets such as Sydney Water – which would only drive-up prices.
NSW labor leader Chris Minns could become the state’s 47th Premier this weekend
Health services we can rely on
It’s clear that our essential services are in crisis.
During this campaign I’ve heard many stories. People waiting hours for an ambulance and up to 19 hours in an emergency department once they get there,
We know the stats – 4,000 children waiting for elective surgery.
It’s just not good enough.
The blame does not lay with our hard working essential workers, it lies with the Liberals.
It’s Dominic Perrottet’s policies which are driving our essential workers to leave in droves.
Our essential workers are either leaving the state or leaving their professions.
A midwife from Nepean Hospital recently told me that after 7 years she is looking to quit her job altogether. Conditions are getting worse – and there’s nowhere near enough staff to cope. She told me that she regularly feels guilty because she can’t get to all of her tasks – and that’s despite regularly missing breaks and working well over her allocated shift.
I believe that essential workers deserve a fair pay rise. And I think the people of NSW do too. Labor has a plan to deliver it.
NSW Labor will fix our essential services and deliver a pay raise to those who have been overlooked for far too long. We’ll do that by delivering $3 billion in savings by reducing the Liberal government’s wasteful spending.
Education
After a decade in office, the Liberals have an awful record when it comes to education.
In 2006, NSW was effectively ranked 6th in the world in reading, 9th in maths, and 3rd in science.
Today, NSW ranks 23rd in reading, 31st in maths, and 23rd in science.
The Liberals and Nationals won’t even put in place simple measures that we know will work, like banning mobile phones in our secondary schools.
Our schools should be focused on teaching and be free of distractions.
NSW Labor Leader Chris Minns (right) has had the support of Prime Minister Anthony Albanese throughout the election campaign
Labor will ban mobile phones in the classrooms and invest in research which looks at the impact of screen-related addictions in young people.
Teachers are leaving the profession at an alarming rate – 2,400 last year alone to be exact. And for the first time in our state’s history, more resigned than retired.
We need a fresh start for our education system.
NSW Labor will invest in our schools and in our state’s teachers by creating 10,000 new permanent positions – converting them from temporary teaching posts.
We’ll also implement our Growth Areas Schools Plan which will deliver new and upgraded schools in growing areas across New South Wales.
Our state deserves so much more than what we’ve had over the last 12 years.
Voters have a very clear choice and must ask themselves the simple question, is this as good as it can be?
Do we want another four years of the same, declining services, more privatisation and increased bills? Or can we do better?
NSW Labor, if elected, will prioritise the people who look after us – paramedics, nurses, teachers, police officers and firefighters – rebuild our health system and our education system and we’ll offer real cost of living relief.
Only Labor has a plan to deliver NSW a fresh start.
Chris Minns (left) hopes to take the job occupied by Dominic Perrottet (right) after the NSW election this weekend
