NSW election 2023: Cost of living to decide new seat of Leppington
Dominic Perrottet and Chris Minns’ aproaches to cost of living and infrastructure look set to decide a key seat in Western Sydney that hasn’t existed until the 2023 election.
State Election
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In the knife-edge new electorate of Leppington in Sydney’s southwest, voters are heading to polls with their mortgages at top of mind.
The parties’ cost of living policies are set to become the defining election issue in the booming area, where sprawling housing estates neighbour half-built schools, shopping centres and roads.
Leppington voters and business owners who spoke to The Daily Telegraph were largely in favour of the area’s infrastructure explosion, but noted more needs to be done to make sure the schools and transport links meet their needs into the future.
Most were undecided about who they would vote for come March 25, or unconvinced either side of politics could ease budget burdens.
Emerald Hills butcher Rob Minnici said his customers are very concerned about paying their bills, more than anything else, and what the government can do to ease the pressure.
“We definitely need more public schools around here … and they need to build Oran Park train station, but they can’t do it the same way they did Leppington with no carparking,” he said.
“But I’ll tell you what the biggest issue is here, it’s interest rates. We’re in the middle of the mortgage belt – everyone around here has a mortgage, and they’re all feeling the rate hikes.”
The electorate is notionally Labor on a margin of 1.5 per cent but is untested in an election, cobbled together in a 2021 redistribution from the surrounding Camden, Liverpool, Holsworthy, Mulgoa and Macquarie Fields seats.
Dominic Perrottet and Chris Minns have been campaigning hard in Leppington, using the area’s parks and schools as a backdrop for policy announcements.
Emerald Hills shopper Leila Candy traditionally votes Labor, but this time her vote is going to whichever party she believes can deliver the healthcare and transport infrastructure needed to support the growing region.
“The roads are a nightmare, and they’re just getting worse and worse,” she said.
“Camden Hospital barely exists, and the wait times at Campbelltown Hospital are terrible. If you have a sick child, you’re better off going to Westmead Hospital. I was raised a Labor voter, but that doesn’t mean it’s going that way for me this time.”
With a two-and-a-half year old child to feed and another on the way, Kearns resident and early childhood educator Fiona Weekes has already decided her vote will go to Labor’s Nathan Hagarty.
“I know how expensive (childcare) is for families, but the government needs to be helping us help them by paying us better,” she said.
“My husband has a good job, but even so we’re feeling the pinch.”
First time mum Mila Wakley, 28, said life is great for families, however the area’s outdoor spaces leave a lot to be desired.
“There are plenty of parks but we really need more shade. I came from the Central Coast where there’s lots of trees and it’s a lot cooler,” she said.
“Nathan [Hagarty] came around to knock on doors and he seems really nice. I always vote Labor.”
Denham Court business owner Kat Dombkins runs The Shed cafe, and while she hasn’t decided who’ll get her vote, she believes the government could be doing more to help with the hospitality industry’s employee shortage.
“It’s been hard to find people, so have they really helped us in that sense? They helped us through Covid ... but I think the post-pandemic activities need to be greater,” she said.
“What kind of incentive can you give me to lure people in at a higher (pay) rate?”
Liberal candidate, Camden mayor Therese Fedeli, will get mortgage broker Mel Falanga’s vote.
He said the cost of living was the number one election issue. “Interest rates are killing people here.”
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