Gladys Berejiklian launches campaign for NSW state election
Premier Gladys Berejiklian has launched the final stretch of her election campaign in the heart of western Sydney with major new commitments to health and education across the state.
NSW State Election 2019
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Premier Gladys Berejiklian has launched the final stretch of her election campaign in the heart of western Sydney with major new commitments to health and education across the state.
Ms Berejiklian rallied the crowd telling the party faithful the government’s job was “far from done”, declaring the Liberals and Nationals had already proved they could turn the NSW economy around.
Ms Berejiklian’s clear focus in her launch speech on schools and hospitals a deliberate bid to counter Labor’s “schools and hospitals before stadiums” campaign push.
While Prime Minister Scott Morrison attended the launch at the Penrith Panthers club, he did not address the crowd, with the state government battling behind the scenes to clearly separate themselves from their federal counterparts.
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The centrepiece announcement from Ms Berejiklian today was a major redevelopment of Bankstown-Lidcome hospital on a new site — a $1.3 billion investment.
The redeveloped hospital includes enhanced emergency, critical care, medical and surgical services.
In the regions, the government announced a $780 million redevelopment of John Hunter Hospital in Newcastle.
Ms Berejiklian also announced an extra $917 million to build eight new schools and upgrade another 31.
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Today’s investments bring the government’s spend to $6.5 billion on school building and $8.4 billion on schools over the next four years. These figures are key to the government’s argument that it can build schools, hospitals and stadiums.
Ms Berejiklian also confirmed a plan to make before and after school care available to all parents with children at public and primary schools by 2021 and promised to connect the new Western Sydney Airport to the north south metro line from the first day it is opened.
In a pitch to voters to get behind her on her strategy to build big infrastructure for the state, the Premier evoked the history of the Sydney Harbour Bridge, the Opera House and the Snowy Hydro scheme, saying it is difficult to imagine NSW without them.
“And yet, in their time, none of these projects was universally supported or easily delivered. Each of them required vision, hard work and determination,” the Premier said.
She told the launch the government’s job was “far from done”, despite having “turned the state around”.
Special guests at the launch included Mr Morrison, former prime minister John Howard and former premiers Barry O’Farrell, Mike Baird, John Fahey and Nick Greiner.
As revealed by The Daily Telegraph last week, former PMs Tony Abbott and Malcolm Turnbull did not attend.
Treasurer Dominic Perrottet, who introduced the Premier, said the bricks and mortar the Liberals were investing in were symbolic of dreams for the state’s future.
He criticised Labor of having “no positive plan” for the state.
Mr Perrottet explicitly targeted Labor leader Michael Daley on stadiums, and called him a “failed finance minister”.
“He pretends to be Bob Brown in the city and Ned Kelly in the country,” Mr Perrottet said, accusing Mr Daley of trying to be “all things to all people”.
The launch played a series of negative ads targeting the Labor campaign by highlighting the history of the state under the former Labor government.
“If Labor get in, you’ll pay for it Daley,” the ads declared.
The launch event also played news stories from 2011 which reported on how NSW had the worst economy in the country.
Deputy Premier John Barilaro, who also addressed the crowd, joked that it wasn’t too long ago he wasn’t invited to too many Liberal events — a reference to his calls in 2017 for Malcolm Turnbull to step down.
He said that was all in the past.
He also joked that his speech had been “ticked off by Alan Jones”.
Mr Barilaro described Ms Berejiklian as “bloody tough”. He commended her for results for regional NSW and particularly spoke of investment in regional roads, schools and hospitals.
Minister for Western Sydney, Stuart Ayres — who is battling to hold on to his seat of Penrith which has just a 6.2 per cent margin — also spoke.
“Let’s get it done,” he declared to a crowd of party faithful.