Gladys Berejiklian and Michael Daley go head-to-head in the People’s Forum
Domestic violence, mental health, education, TAFE, stadiums and preference deals with the Shooters and Fishers Party have emerged as major issues in The Daily Telegraph/Sky News People’s Forum between Premier Gladys Berejiklian and NSW Labor leader Michael Daley in front of 100 undecided voters.
Domestic violence, mental health, education, stadiums, TAFE and preference deals with the Shooters and Fishers party emerged as the major issues in The Daily Telegraph/Sky News People’s Forum between Premier Gladys Berejiklian and NSW Labor leader Michael Daley tonight.
At the end of the debate, in which Opposition Leader Michael Daley was conversational but stumbled over key details while the Premier was strong on details, exactly half the audience members said they were more likely to vote for the Ms Berejiklian’s Coalition government than Mr Daley’s Labor opposition.
One quarter of the audience said they were more likely to vote for Mr Daley, and the remaining quarter were still undecided.
DV, HEALTH AND EDUCATION
In the final debate before the NSW election on Saturday, both leaders promised to increase funding and improve education programs.
Mr Daley described how he let a mother of two live in his electorate office for three days while she waited for a housing place to become available.
“We will give recurrent funding and capital funding to the not-for-profit sector to keep doing their good work. This is a scourge … everyone has to take responsibility for this,” he said.
Ms Berejiklian hit back at claims by Mr Daley the NSW Government had cut $22 million from domestic violence services.
“Two years ago in our budget we boosted support for families by record amounts,” she said.
“We boost opportunities for women to have safe housing when they’re in crisis.”
“(We need to be) making sure that we support families who actually see the signs of this emerging before it gets to a crisis.”
When the lack of mental health funding for young people was raised by an audience member,
Ms Berejiklian has promised to figure out why he was not able to get mental health treatment for his daughter at Nepean Hospital.
The father asked Ms Berejiklian what she would do to help children being turned away from the health system claiming funding was mainly set up for adults.
Ms Berejiklian said her party had reformed policy and was working to place mental health experts in schools to spot issues before they reached “crisis” level.
“One of the proudest things we are doing across the state is putting two mental health experts in each of the schools.
“We are making this significant change in policy because we need to prevent people getting to a crisis stage.”
“If children are not (getting mental health checks) we need to follow that up and I am sad you were not supported.”
Mr Daley said the father was “not alone” and described the “incredible pain” and stress nurses were under in the state’s health system.
“We have announced 5500 additional nurses in NSW, not just by pumping more nurses into the system, but by legislating for the very first time in NSW nurse-to-patient ratios,” he said
“It will ensure people are more adequately looked after.”
TAFE
However Mr Daley was left red-faced during an awkward exchange with the debate’s host David Spears when he failed to remember details of his TAFE package.
“How much more are you going to spend on TAFE,” Mr Speers asked.
Mr Daley responded saying “oh well it will be, uh, about $3 billion on TAFE,” before Ms Berejiklian quipped in with a surprised “what?” before the Labor leader backtracked.
“Let me check that figure,” Mr Daley said, before admitting he forgot what the correct figure was.
STADIUM SPENDING
It came just minutes after Mr Daley stumbled over Ms Berejiklian’s stadium rebuilding costing and falsely claimed the refurbishment figure to be $348 million when it is in fact twice that value.
Ms Berejiklian outlined her business case for spending $2 billion on new stadiums, saying the figure was just 1 per cent of total infrastructure spending and would generate three times that figure for state coffers in revenue over the next 20 years.
“For many families going to a sporting event, having their kids at a great stadium is a positive,” she said.
“The return to the state will be phenomenal (and) for every major event we hold the return to the state is seven-fold in terms of revenue. It creates jobs and makes NSW a place people want to be.
“For every dollar we invest over 10 years … depending on the stadium, you are looking at, its about 3 dollars for each dollar investing. The business case has been on the public record for more than a year.”
Ms Berejiklian also said Allianz Stadium needed a $340 million investment to bring it up to code — a cost Labor would have to pay to keep the stadium open.
However, Mr Daley said the return figures were irrelevant because the public had to pay the initial investment.
“Doesn’t matter what the return is — it’s how much you’re asking people to pay for it,” he said.
“We don’t know because we don’t know what the stadium will look like when we go into it,” he said. “What I want is for the stadium to be there on the weekend.
“What I want is for people to have their say … I want it standing so these people can decide what to do with it.”
HUNG PARLIAMENT AND PREFERENCES
When the leaders were asked to talk about how they would respond to a hung parliament, Ms Berejiklian said she would be prepared to have discussions with every party except the Shooters and Fishers.
Ms Berejiklian said she needed to take a moral stand against the party which advocated for children as young as 10 years old to have access to firearms.
“I won’t be dealing with the Shooters because I don’t believe in their values and I’ve made a stand on that,” she said.
“I don’t support bringing semiautomatics into NSW. I don’t support giving 10-year-olds guns.
“We would have discussions (with everyone) everyone else.”
Mr Daley would not rule out working with the Shooters and Fishers in some capacity but vowed to never weaken the state’s gun laws.
“If there is a hung parliament there will be no coalition and no deals,” he said.
“They can support us on confidence and supply.
“We will take support of anyone these people dish up but we will not be beholden to them and we will not do deals with them.”
Both leaders stressed to voters that a hung parliament was not in the best interest of the state.
THE GREAT DEBATE KICKS OFF
The Daily Telegraph/Sky News People’s Forum began at 8pm with the two leaders delivering fiery opening remarks.
Mr Daley started off by criticising Ms Berejiklian’s economic record, claiming her party had “wasted $14 billion” on frivolous infrastructure projects and reminded the crowd that the NSW Government wanted to “spend $2 billion knocking down and rebuilding stadiums”.
He also said Ms Berejiklian and her party did not believe in climate change.
The NSW Premier quickly hit back, saying her party rebuilt a broken budget and was now in the financial position to build infrastructure and keep power prices down.
“When we first came to government the budget was an absolute disaster (and) NSW was coming last in every single indicator,” she said.
“Unemployment was the highest in Australia and we had no money to do anything.
“We turned that around and what we’ve done by turning that around is record investment into the community.”
The first question of the night focused on climate change and Ms Berejiklian was asked to explain what she was doing to help people in Western Sydney who faced extreme heatwaves over summer.
“I completely appreciate that people who live in Western Sydney do experience temperatures a few degrees higher than the rest of Sydney,” she said.
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“We are planting five million trees because more shade means cooler temperatures … we are doing everything to make Western Sydney more liveable in the future.
“In terms of climate change … as far as the NSW Government is concerned we are all united — all the funds we are investing into climate change and sustainability have the full support of my party.”
Mr Daley also weighed into the question, saying he was proud of his party’s climate change policies.
“We’ve got 500,000 solar bonuses for houses who want to put solar on their houses over 10 years, which will remove the equivalent of (emissions from) four million cars on the road,” he said.
“We actually believe climate change is real and I have stuck my neck out. When there was a rally with schoolchildren who wanted to take leadership on climate change I backed them 100 per cent and my opponent said this was the wrong thing to do.”
The forum, being held at the University of Western Sydney, is in front of an audience of 100 undecided Sydney voters.
The forum, being held at Western Sydney University in front of 100 undecided Sydney voters, began with host David Speers taking the stage welcome the audience, telling them their job would be to ask questions and his job would be to stop the politicians answering them “with spin”.
“You ask the questions — hopefully they answer,” Speers said.
“This is a great opportunity to put the leaders on the spot. If it matters to you, that’s what counts. Not journalists asking questions, but real people asking questions.”
Speers urged the audience members to ask anything they wanted to.
“They’re not going to be here with advisers in their ears,” he said.
Mr Daley was not without supporters in the crowd. NSW Labor deputy leader Penny Sharpe took a seat in the audience next to The Daily Telegraph Editor Ben English.
Political adviser Eamonn Fitzpatrick was also in the audience.
The debate is being held in Western Sydney, in the key battleground seat of Penrith, where Sports Minister Stuart Ayres is in danger of losing to Labor despite holding the seat with a 6.2 per cent margin.
THE BUILD-UP
Earlier this evening, a security presence with police dogs did a sweep of the campus, preparing for the arrival of the two leaders.
The undecided voters who make up the audience also began arriving.
Some said they had chosen to take part in the debate to find out more about Michael Daley, who has only held the Labor leadership for only four months since former NSW Labor leader Luke Foley’s resignation.
Abbotsbury teacher Melissa Abrahams, 52, said she felt compelled to attend after her two teenage children admitted last week they didn’t know who Ms Berejiklian or Mr Daley were and had to Google them.
“I just think most people are distracted, I’ve got two young kids and they’re Googling who are they and what party they’re from — it’s not like when I was young,” she said.
“I thought I would come along to see what (Mr Daley) has to say, I don’t know much about him. I don’t think he’s a great speaker.”
Ms Abrahams questioned Mr Daley’s commitment for a $1 billion upgrade to Nepean Hospital when works were already underway.
She also said his comments about Asian immigration were a mistake.
Veronica Sauer, from Stanhope Gardens in Kellyville, said tonight’s debate would be the deciding factor on how she voted.
“I am swaying towards one side but seeing both leaders in flesh will be really different,” Ms Sauer said.
“The biggest issue for me is the cost of living in Sydney … I pay more in tolls than I do in fuel.”
Veronica said public transport wasn’t an option for her because she had to drive to work and foot the bill on road tolls.
“I am paying about $3700 a year to use the M2 and M7, while I pay $1800 a year on fuel,” Veronica said.
“It’s ridiculous and I just want to move out of Sydney … it’s too expensive.”
For Ross Collins, from Seven Hills, public transport and healthcare were the two biggest issues he wanted to see addressed by both leaders tonight.
“There’s been talk for many years about expanding the Carlingford rail line to Chatswood … that’s all it is — talk,” Mr Collins said.
“I am still undecided at this point but I will have a clearer idea by the end of tonight.”
Dean Park resident Suren Naidoo, 72, said he was taking part in order to grill politicians about their retirement perks.
“Every politician is rich — these perks, I don’t get those,” he said.
Mr Naidoo said listening to the debate would help inform his decision at the booth on Saturday.
“I will see what they have to say, both are making promises, anything could happen,” he said.
Earlier today, Penrith mum Ivy Torres Wong, 31, told The Daily Telegraph that she was looking forward to the opportunity to meet the leaders face-to-face.
She said she wanted to know how both parties would proceed with major infrastructure projects.
“If Labor gets elected, are they going to continue with them? If the Libs get elected, how will they continue with it if they want to keep bringing more tolls on to us?” she said.
“I think what everybody else will be looking at from the west will be the tolls and where is the money going to go for healthcare.”
Macarthur student Andrew Cham, 20, said he wanted to ask what both sides are doing to improve the housing market.
“I will be expecting some purer answers and a greater view of what the Liberals have in plan for the next term of government if they get elected,” he said.
Opinion polls have the election on a knife-edge, with the two-party preferred vote split 50-50 between the major parties.
The forum will be streamed live on dailytelegraph.com.au and broadcast on Sky from 8pm.
The whole event is being live blogged by Sunday Telegraph political reporter Linda Silmalis on dailytelegraph.com.au.
This will be followed by expert analysis and reporting of the forum, including the final verdict from the undecided voters.
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