NSW Opposition Leader Michael Daley visits Holsworthy

NSW Opposition Leader Michael Daley says his party will provide relief from cost of living pressures to voters if Labor wins the 2019 state election.

NSW Opposition Leader Michael Daley says his party will provide relief from cost of living pressures to voters if Labor wins the 2019 state election.

Mr Daley greeted early morning commuters at Holsworthy railway station today alongside Liverpool councillor and Labor candidate for Holsworthy Charishma Kaliyanda to promote the benefits of the Opposition’s ‘fair fares’ policy.

Labor has promised free public transport on the Opal network for children under the age of 16, a policy it claims would cost $44 million in 2019-20.

Currently, children are eligible for free travel to and from school, but only if they live more than two kilometres from their school.

Mr Daley said cost of living was a “massive issue” across the city.

“Sydney is a very expensive place to live. This is a small thing we can do for families to help take the cost of living pressures off of them and the feedback has been enormous,” he said.

Mr Daley said he brought an understanding of “working families” to the leadership, having worked as a paperboy, customs officer and corporate lawyer before entering politics.

Labor candidate for Holsworthy Charishma Kaliyanda with State Opposition Leader Michael Daley at Holsworthy railway station today.

“What really formed my views, I think, apart from the values that mum and dad gave me, was my first job was a paperboy through the Department of Housing estates of south Maroubra at the age of 11 or 12.

“I saw then that the working families of my area — who are the same as working families everywhere — they don’t want handouts, they don’t want anything that’s not fair, they just want respect.”

He said communities wanted “basic services” such as health, education and transport.

Mr Daley also criticised “the unfair distribution of density around Sydney”, saying the planning system would change if he was elected as Premier.

“I will change the planning system and make sure the planning laws have to be adhered to by everybody. I will give certainty to communities and I’ll also give certainty to developers because they’re the ones that build the housing we need. At the moment, no one’s getting it.”

In July, Mr Daley visited Moorebank amid concerns within the community about the level of development in the suburb.

Ms Kaliyanda said it was clear cost of living pressures and overdevelopment were some of the major issues concerning residents.

“Wages have been stagnant for the last few years but cost of living … is increasing,” she said, adding residents were also worried about “overdevelopment and the changing nature of their communities”.

Ms Kaliyanda has lived in the Liverpool area since she was four years old.

“I can go anywhere in the world and I come back to Liverpool and it feels like home. There’s very few places that evoke that sense of community and familiarity.”