Chris Minns’ campaign hits the skids as electric bus breaks down

Chris Minns has made light of a campaign trail fail after Labor’s brand new electric-powered tour bus broke down in Western Sydney today, forcing him to hop on a traditional gas-guzzler.

Chris Minns has laughed off suggestions his campaign has run out of charge, after the Labor bus emblazoned with his face broke down on Tuesday.

The Opposition leader joked “I forgot to charge it last night and as a result it broke down” when quizzed on the mishap which led to media, MPs and staff having to transfer onto a gas guzzler.

It’s understood an issue with the Western Sydney-built, electricity-powered bus’s battery led to the vehicle having to be ditched midway through a tour of western Sydney electorates on Tuesday.

Passengers had to shuffle on to a traditional petrol-fuelled vehicle after the electric bus drove from NSW Parliament to Warragamba Dam, a trip of roughly 66 kilometres.

The electric bus, which only entered service last week, has a range of 300km when fully charged.

Labor leader Chris Minns’ brand-new tour bus has broken down.

The bus only made its debut last week.

Local manufacturing forms a key plank of Labor’s election platform.

Mr Minns couldn’t confirm whether the bus would be back on the road on Wednesday.

Labor's new tour bus after the electric one broke down.

“Bus or no bus we are ready for the next four days,” Mr Minns said.

“We are fired up and ready to go, bus or no bus.”

It comes after Chris Minns has denied he has signed a blank cheque with the unions representing essential workers, a day after independent analysis highlighted “significant risks” over whether Labor could afford scrapping the wages cap.

A day after Mr Minns for the first time committed to giving public sector workers a pay rise above the 3.5 per cent wage cap, Mr Minns said there hadn’t been blow outs in wage costs in other Australian states without a cap.

That came after the Parliamentary Budget Office raised concerns a pay rise just one per cent above 3.5 per cent would cost an extra $2.6 billion over three years.

Mr Minns said the policy was “absolutely not” a blank cheque, despite the stance requiring “vigorous and rigorous” negotiation with the unions.

“You haven’t seen those increases in other jurisdictions that don’t have a wages cap in place and do have Labor governments ,,, now. Now we know that it’ll be a vigorous and rigorous negotiation but the point here is it will be a negotiation,” he said.

NSW Labor Leader Chris Minns, pictured at NSW Labor’s ‘Final Countdown' campaign rally, may not have the cash to pay for the party’s key election pledge, it can be revealed. Picture: Gaye Gerard

“We know the government’s bloated, we know that it’s top heavy. We identified … a reduction of 25 per cent in labour hire that would save the New South Wales budget $1.6 billion, we identified a 15 per cent reduction in senior executive positions in New South Wales as well as a freeze on pay to senior bureaucrats and politicians that would save $600m.”

Mr Minns made the announcement at Warragamba Dam, where he was flanked by shadow treasurer Daniel Mookhey and shadow water minister Rose Jackson.

WARRAGAMBA WARNING

Labor has always rejected calls to raise the dam wall, instead funding a package worth over $200m to improve flood evacuation routes in western Sydney.

On Tuesday they highlighted the lack of funding committed to for the wall-raising in the Coalition’s costings.

Mr Minns said given the dearth in funding for the wall, the Coalition would have to privatise to fund the project.

“It’ll be built by privatising assets owned by the people of this state and the only wholly owned asset owned by the people of New South Wales is Sydney Water – that’s the only one that’s left,” he said.

PBO WARNS OF ‘SIGNIFICANT RISKS’

On Monday, independent Treasury analysis warned Minns’ plan to scrap the public sector wage cap could also reduce the quality of services, and said there were “significant risks” that Labor will not be able to pay for its signature election commitment through savings alone.

Labor has put no money aside to pay for its plan to increase public sector wages, instead promising to pay for higher pay and conditions through savings measures elsewhere.

But the PBO – which independently compares the cost of both major parties’ election commitments – has identified “significant risks” to Labor’s plan.

It came after the Labor leader guaranteed for the first time that essential workers would get a pay rise greater than the 3.5 per cent currently baked in by the NSW Government if his party wins and scraps the wage cap.

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NSW Premier Dominic Perrottet lashed out at the Opposition over the PBO data. Picture: Gaye Gerard

“I can guarantee that as a result of the fact that we know that there’s budget savings and productivity gains with our strict economic rules in place, essential workers will be better off under Labor,’ Mr Minns said.

According to the PBO analysis, it would cost $2.6 billion over three years if public sector pay increased at a yearly rate one per cent higher than under the current plan.

Premier Dominic Perrottet seized on the warning, accusing Labor of “deceiving NSW taxpayers (by) trying to hide their $9 billion budget black hole”

The PBO analysis also identified risks in Labor’s plan to cap toll costs at $60 per week. Among the “risks and uncertainties” associated with the policy was a finding that it would likely encourage families to add multiple vehicles to a single toll account, which could end up increasing costs.

The election costings, released on Monday, found that a Coalition government would be forced to borrow more than Labor to pay for its commitments. If Labor can find savings to pay for its wages plan, Government debt over four years would be about $4 billion worse-off under the Coalition.

The budget bottom line would also be better under Labor, the costings found.

But to pay for election commitments in Western Sydney including upgrading a number of hospitals, Labor has also reallocated about $2 billion worth of WestInvest funding.

Labor’s plan to cap toll costs for motorists has also been called into question. Picture: Gaye Gerard.

Labor would not say what WestInvest projects would not go ahead if Mr Minns wins, with Treasurer Matt Kean accusing Labor of “ripping” out funding from Western Sydney communities by not going ahead with projects that have already been announced.

Mr Kean said the treasury costings showed Labor were being “fantasists” with their major campaign promises.

“Their wages policy is not worth the paper it’s being written on,” he said.

“They promised wages would be lifted significantly for public servants … yet at the same time they’ve told election officials today that they will spend $0 in delivering this huge process.”

But Opposition Treasury spokesman Daniel Mookhey said Labor had found enough money to pay for increasing wages without blowing the budget.

“(We) have unveiled $3 billion worth of savings on the operating side of the budget compared to Mr Kean’s one,” he said.

“And I would just point out, the only savings Matt Kean has outlined, he’s pinched from me. He can send me a thank you card afterwards. The truth is we have already from Opposition demonstrated how we intend to save taxpayers’ money.

“So we can redirect that to essential services and not resort to privatisation. Essential workers will always have better pay conditions under Labor and will continue to own assets like Sydney Water.”

He also denied it was irresponsible not to have figures relating to boosting wages, saying Labor was overhauling the entire public sector pay system.

“Not at all, because what we’re wanting to do is come up with a better system. We’re promising a better system that allows us to sit down and talk with essential workers about how we can improve their pay conditions, so they stay,” he said.