Kristina Keneally: My record stacks up, says former premier turned Bennelong candidate
FORMER premier Kristina Keneally has stood by her record running the state during one of its most dismal periods, claiming NSW should be “embarrassed” it has $70 billion worth of infrastructure on the books.
NSW
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FORMER premier Kristina Keneally has stood by her record running the state during one of its most dismal periods, claiming NSW should be “embarrassed” it has $70 billion worth of infrastructure on the books.
In a bizarre attack on the state government in her first full day campaigning for a federal seat, Ms Keneally — roundly accused of presiding over the state as development stalled — questioned the investment in infrastructure when power prices were high.
“It’s embarrassing that they’ve got $70 billion worth of infrastructure on the books and they can’t do anything about power prices going up for NSW families,” Ms Keneally, who was dogged by the issue of electricity while premier, said.
Ms Keneally is hoping for a return to politics, standing for Labor in the Sydney seat of Bennelong against Liberal and tennis great John Alexander, who is recontesting the seat after being caught up in the dual citizenship saga.
Campaigning in Eastwood yesterday, Ms Keneally faced questions about her own track record — during her leadership NSW languished at the back of the pack on national economic indicators — and said she was “happy” to be compared with any government that followed.
“You know what? I am happy to stack up any time, any place — my record against theirs,” she said.
Supporting Mr Alexander, who was also on the hustings in Eastwood, Foreign Minister Julie Bishop issued a blistering attack on Ms Keneally’s political past.
“Former Labor transport minister Carl Scully said Kristina was asleep at the wheel when it came to infrastructure for the people of NSW,” Ms Bishop said.
“In fact, she was notorious for cancelling the metro rail project which wasted $500 million of taxpayers’ money.
“As premier she cancelled school funding to the tune of $315 million for state schools. As premier, electricity prices went up, bus and train fares went through the roof.”
Ms Keneally, when questioned about reinstating to cabinet the now jailed former minister Ian Macdonald, said bringing up ghosts of the past was nothing more than “throwing mud”.
“Well that just shows the kind of desperation that Malcolm Turnbull and the Liberals must be feeling if they think the best attack is to drag up the past,” she said, adding ICAC transcripts had pointed to her integrity.
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NSW has leapt ahead in economic indicators since Ms Keneally was last in public office — rising from 7th then to first in Commsec’s latest State of the State report
There was an awkward run-in as Ms Keneally and Mr Alexander and Ms Bishop came face-to-face while both sides campaigned at the same time in Eastwood Mall. “I feel you’re stalking me,” Mr Alexander joked to Ms Keneally, while Ms Bishop stayed mostly tight-lipped.
Meanwhile, three years of Ms Keneally’s tweets were publicly released yesterday after she bizarrely claimed they had been taken off the internet for “archiving”.
Ms Keneally had said, due to a project with the State Library, a “hard drive with all the tweets” was taken from her house in early November. She clarified she deleted the tweets from the internet to avoid doubling up on archiving with the library.
After she was ridiculed for the bizarre move, she posted a document containing the three years’ worth of tweets on her Twitter account. They feature support for Labor leader Bill Shorten, criticism of former NSW premier Barry O’Farrell and her call for Sydney Lord Mayor Clover Moore to be named NSW Woman of the Year.