Macquarie St project latest example of our out of touch politicians

The state government’s latest plan to jazz up Macquarie Street is the latest iteration of politicians being obsessed with nothing so much as themselves, writes Anna Caldwell.

Let’s call it the obsession the Liberals had to have.

At a time when voters feel disconnected from the party — just look to Victoria for proof — what do Gladys Berejiklian and her Treasurer Dominic Perrottet do?

They turn to Labor stalwart Paul Keating and ask him to work on a plan to jazz up a snobby street in the CBD.

And not just any CBD street. Macquarie Street.

NSW Parliament House on Macquarie Street. Picture: Paul Miller

You read that right. Four months out from what will be one of the fiercest state election contests for the future of the people of NSW, the Berejiklian government has taken out the microscope to focus on the fortunes of none other than the street that their own parliamentary offices sit on.

In this latest iteration of politicians being obsessed with nothing so much as themselves, Perrottet and Berejiklian were this week very excited about drafting Keating and Lucy Turnbull to improve Macquarie St.

Gladys Berejiklian and Michael Daley. Art: Terry Pontikos

“Our aim is to make this area with its historic buildings and beautiful gardens an even more vibrant place for locals and tourists to enjoy,” the Premier proclaimed.

What will it take for politicians to learn that the voting public don’t take kindly to them manicuring their own lawn?

At a time when the government is at risk of losing its grasp on the state it’s rolling out a policy for Macquarie Street where there are precisely no votes to be won.

Lucy Turnbull has been brought in to help revitalise Macquarie Street. Picture: Britta Campion

Former prime minister Paul Keating will also collaborate on the project. Picture: Peter Rae

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Not only that, it’s alienating voters who thinks there’s probably something more pressing for the Treasurer and the Premier to turn their minds to — like the cost of living, or traffic congestion, or just about anything else for that matter.

One government source — one of the smartest political minds in state politics — was stunned by the Monday morning news bite churned out by the Premier’s office.

“How out of touch can we be?” this individual said to me.

“Imagine what people in the bush think of this. Hell, imagine what people 30km out of town think about this!”

The Daily Telegraph's State Political Editor Anna Caldwell. Picture: Jonathan Ng

If Australia had a Donald Trump figure, it would be exactly the kind of story to inspire chants of “Drain the swamp!”.

Of course, the government is doing much more for people beyond tizzying up its own backyard on Macquarie Street. But the truth is getting a third term of power in this state is damn hard and they can’t afford to give people the wrong idea.

There’s no excuse for wasting airtime.

This is a period when the challenges to the Berejiklian government have never been greater.

The reset of Labor under Michael Daley’s new leadership has rattled the cage.

The very day Perrottet was doing stand ups alongside Lucy Turnbull to tout Macquarie St, Daley was lighting a bonfire under the very issue the government had hoped to put to bed — stadiums.

There Daley was, standing outside a decommissioned Allianz proclaiming “schools and hospitals before stadiums”.

Never mind that this concept was the brainchild of now disgraced former leader Luke Foley — Daley had deftly found a new way to raise the government’s Frankenstein.

He won’t spend a cent of taxpayer dollars on stadiums. Not even Foley went there. And what a way to get the attention of the very taxpayer whose money you are saving.

In fact, Daley’s plan is potentially deeply flawed.

He is risking Sydney’s big city future. He is risking major events.

And he’s running a straw man argument that Sydney can’t have a great publicly funded sporting stadiums at the same time as world class schools and hospitals.

It can of course have both.

Labor leader Michael Daley has reset his party with a strong message against stadiums. Picture: Tracey Nearmy

But it might as well not matter because Daley’s message is so strong and so compelling to those very people who feel like the government has lost touch with them.

It’s worth noting that when Daley was asked by The Daily Telegraph this week to name the top five schools and hospitals he believes need immediate investment, he would not — or could not — do it.

He says this is because he doesn’t want to reveal election priorities.

But surely when you’re proclaiming “schools and hospitals before stadiums” the idea of precisely which schools and hospitals are in trouble shouldn’t be a state secret.

The truth is this government is in fact investing record cash in schools and hospitals. It is embarking on a massive school and hospital infrastructure program.

But Berejiklian and Co. risk this message being lost on voters who, quite simply, find life hard and want something done about it

If Labor and Daley can tap into this sentiment they will be home and laughing on March 23.

It’s worth nothing that Daley too is receiving mentorship from Keating. But it’s on the smart stuff, like economics and campaigning.

This will show.

A bright shiny Macquarie Street might be a nice place to come to work under Perrottet’s plan but it’s unlikely to make up for the sheer pain of sitting on the opposition benches.