Chris Minns and wife Anna speak ahead of NSW election

Chris Minns has revealed one of the first things he plans to change as the next premier of NSW, and it might surprise you.

Chris Minns has revealed one of the first things he will change as the state’s new premier.

Labor is projected to win the NSW election in a landslide after just a few hours of counting votes.

Mr Minns and his wife Anna sat down with news.com.au ahead of the election, with the incoming NSW Premier revealing what was at the top of his to-do list once in the top job.

He said changes needed to be made around teaching in the state and how the government works with and supports teachers.

“First thing we’ll change is the focus on teaching in NSW and building up the teaching profession, he said.

Mr Minns noted there had been a 30 per cent reduction in the number of school leavers choosing to study education at university, adding that if the government doesn’t start focusing on “building up the teaching profession” then the state is not going to “attract the best and brightest to become teachers”.

Chris Minns said he will be making changes around teaching in NSW if he becomes premier.

“We need to be in a position where we’re working with the people that we need to run public services in NSW, and teachers are a big, big important part of that,” he said.

Another issue at the forefront of voters’ minds is the rising cost of living, including skyrocketing mortgages, rent and grocery prices.

When asked how his family had been impacted, Mr Minns said every family was facing different circumstances, but said his family were in a “far better position” than so many others across the state and in his electorate of Kogarah.

“We really feel for people in the community that are doing it tough, struggling to pay rent, meet their grocery bills and energy bills, which have been skyrocketing too,” he said.

“So our focus is on them and making sure that we can help them.”

Mr Minns noted Labor’s Energy Relief Fund means eligible NSW households will receive up to $500 to go towards electricity bills.

NSW small businesses will also receive $315 off their energy bill, with eligible businesses seeing that bumped up to $630 when matched by funding from the Commonwealth Government’s rebate scheme.

Mr Minns said stopping privatisation was another major way to bring down the cost of living in the medium and long-term.

“In particular Sydney Water, because if that is sold off, water bills will go the same way as tolls and electricity bills,” he said.

Young renters, home buyers ‘doing it tougher’

Rising house prices, interest rates and rental prices means there are many young people who are struggling to break into the property market.

Mr Minns said he believes young people have it tougher than he and his wife did when they were saving for their first home.

Ms Minns told news.com.au that they “saved for a really long time” to buy their first home, which was just up the road from their current house in Kogarah, southern Sydney.

“We thought we’d never be able to pay it off. We still have the mortgage,” she said.

Mr Minns and his wife Anna said they ‘saved for a really long time’ to purchase their first home.

The pair also lived in a number of rentals and also recently had to move out of their current home and into a rental for a period of time.

“The rent did go up. So we really do sympathise with people,” Ms Minns said.

Mr Minns added that they were in “such a fortunate position” and that they really felt for young people in particular at the moment.

“When we were in our 20s and 30s, inflation wasn’t at 7 or 8 per cent and interest rates weren’t skyrocketing,” he said.

“So the truth of the matter is, people that were our age or in their 20s today are doing it a lot tougher than we were when we were coming through.”

For those who are currently struggling under cost of living pressures, Mr Minns encouraged them to “hang in there” and to look for government support.

“I think that’s really important. And to know that, particularly on the Labor side, we’ve got a lot of sympathy for what people are going through and we’re taking active measures to reduce the costs associated with electricity,” he said.

NSW Labor has also pledged to eliminate stamp duty for first homebuyers when purchasing properties up to $800,000, along with a reduced amount up to $1 million.

Mr Minns said rising energy prices and stresses on the health system are some of the major challenges facing NSW.

What is the biggest challenge facing NSW?

Rising energy prices and the health system are some of the biggest areas of concern for NSW over the next 12 months, according to Mr Minns

“We don’t live too far from St George Hospital. We’ve got a lot of friends that work up there,” he said.

“Nurses and paramedics and our hospital cleaners and orderlies all say they thought that Covid was the most difficult period, but the period after that has been a real challenge for them.”

Mr Minns noted that many of the people they speak to have said they are looking to get out of the health profession altogether because of how challenging it has been.

“So we feel for it. It’s not just academic for us – it’s our friends, it’s our local community, the people who are propping up the health system,” he said.

The outcome to today’s election will decide whether Mr Minns will become NSW’s next premier, with his wife revealing why she thinks people should vote for him.

When asked the question by news.com.au, Mr Minns jumped in and jokingly claimed his wife was a “swing voter”.

“Yeah, I haven’t made up my mind yet,” she laughed, before adding that the reason people should vote for her husband is because he is a “good guy and he really cares about people”.

“He has good Labor values and he will put teachers and our frontline service workers front of mind and stop privatisation,” she said.

Originally published as Chris Minns and wife Anna speak ahead of NSW election