Gladys Berejiklian is facing the fight of her political life. Why is the NSW election race so tight?

Australia’s largest economy, plenty of jobs, billions to spend on roads, health and education. So, why is the NSW election race so tight?

Gladys Berejiklian wanted to be many things when she was a little girl.

One day it was an astronaut while the next it was a scientist, depending on what book the avid reader had just devoured.

“You name it, I went through phases,” Ms Berejiklian told news.com.au. “I was very widely read so wherever my imagination took me that day is what I wanted to be.”

One thing her creative young mind never imagined was that she could be elected to parliament, as she was in 2003, and become premier of the country’s most populous and prosperous state, a milestone she achieved two years ago.

“I couldn’t speak English when I started school,” Ms Berejiklian recalled. “Because of the great teachers in the public school system, I got to reach my potential.”

Ms Berejiklian was born on September 22, 1970, the eldest of three daughters to Armenian immigrant parents. She spoke only her family’s native tongue until she was five.

It’s why the NSW premier is so passionate about education, with her government delivering a $6 billion school infrastructure program — the largest ever in Australia.

“I want every child in NSW to have the same opportunity,” she said.

Gladys Berejiklian has committed billions of dollars in funding for a raft of health and education projects. Picture: AAP

During the election campaign, now entering its final days, Ms Berejiklian also committed $2 billion to hire an additional 4600 full-time teachers and $1.2 billion to wipe the state’s school maintenance backlog.

It joins billions in health spending, a record pipeline of infrastructure, record low unemployment, a booming economy and a health budget surplus, as her key achievements.

And yet, Ms Berejiklian is facing the fight of her political life.

Polling shows the Liberal and National Party Coalition is neck-and-neck with the Labor Party and Saturday’s poll will be tight.

It looks increasingly likely that either she or Opposition Leader Michael Daley could be forced to form government with the help of minor parties and independents.

“We always knew it would be close,” Ms Berejiklian said.

Gladys Berejiklian has been campaigning hard, in a bid to see of a fierce challenge from Labor and Michael Daley. Picture: Richard Dobson

“There’s a lot of big choices for the people of NSW — and there’s a clear choice come Saturday, and that is do you want to support my government, which is all about planning and building for the future?

“We can’t down tools now. We can’t stop what we’re doing.

“I’m incredibly proud of the fact we have the lowest unemployment rate in NSW ever. It’s the lowest in the nation but the lowest on record ever, 3.9 per cent.

“And also the fact that the many projects we’re building, the services we’re providing, have been unprecedented.

“Do we have more to do? Of course we do. But when we came to government, NSW was the worst-performing state in the nation. It was a basket case.”

The state’s economy has gone from the country’s worst-performing to the best in eight years and this week recorded the lowest-ever unemployment rate with 3.9 per cent.

“We’ve turned it around. We’ve built up the economy, we’ve built up the budget, and now we’re investing back in our communities. The last thing I want to see is NSW go backwards again. That’s what happened the last time Labor was in.”

RELATED: Everything you need to know about the NSW election

Premier Gladys Berejiklian has talked up her government’s huge transport infrastructure projects — some popular, some not so much. Picture: AAP

Ms Berejiklian said the 16 years of Labor rule had “taken NSW backwards” with no job growth, high unemployment and economic collapse.

But since 2011, the state has seen two other Liberal premiers come and go — Barry O’Farrell, who quit over an undeclared bottle of wine, and Mike Baird, who returned to the private sector.

Despite the state’s good economic fortunes and record public spending, a portion of the electorate believes her government is on the nose.

Controversial lockout laws have hit the night-time economy hard and contributed to the closure of dozens of businesses.

The light rail project is well over schedule, considerably over budget and plagued with problems. The $1.5 billion stadiums plan is contentious, to say the least.

WestConnex, the mammoth road project that has quite literally torn up pockets of Sydney’s inner west, is also unpopular.

Ms Berejiklian’s stance on pill testing at major events and a crackdown on high-risk music festivals have also caused damage to her approval rating.

And that’s just in the city. In the state’s regions, the National Party is polling poorly due to the Murray-Darling water plan management fiasco, a slow response to the drought and mass fish kills on the Murray River.

The National Party is polling poorly in large parts of the bush and it could hurt Gladys Berejiklian’s chances of holding government. Picture: Nathan Edwards

Gladys Berejiklian has been keen to talk up her government’s record on health and education, while committing billions more to new projects. Picture: Darren Leigh Roberts

“I think people will ask themselves if they’re better off, and if they feel they’re going to be better off into the future, and that’s ultimately what matters to people,” Ms Berejiklian said of her political woes.

“There’s so much to look forward to. We need to finish the projects we’ve started, we need to begin the new ones we need, and we need to provide every person the opportunity to lead their best lives.”

On stadiums, she said NSW should be able to have world-class sporting facilities and continued high investment in health and education — not one or the other, as Labor is claiming.

When it comes to the perception that she is the leader of a nanny state — over-regulated and anti-fun — she said it was a tough balance.

“When you’re the premier, your first and foremost responsibility is to protect the community,” Ms Berejiklian said.

“There’s always going to be an argument about how that equates to the right balance. Some people will tell you it’s not enough and others will tell you it’s too far.

“On music festivals, I want to stress the point that we have 80 or 90 festivals every year. The vast majority are absolutely fine and do a great job. We want to encourage them. I’d love to see more festivals and more people enjoying themselves.

“There’s a very small number, we have identified who they are, and we’re saying work with us. Unfortunately, they’ve either had someone die or people sustain lifelong injuries. We need to make sure there’s enough medical attention on hand, enough basic things like water, security …

“At the end of the day, I would be irresponsible if I didn’t do everything I could to keep people safe.”

Gladys Berejiklian pictured when she was elected president of the NSW Young Liberals.

Gladys Berejiklian when she was finally declared the winner of the seat of Willoughby in 2003. Picture: Samantha Emanuel

And on red tape — something the government has been criticised for failing to reduce — she agreed there’s more work to be done.

“Oh, absolutely,” Ms Berejiklian said.

“I can’t handle red tape. It frustrates me when there’s red tape that doesn’t need to be there.

“I always say to my team that if there are examples that don’t pass the commonsense test, let’s deal with it.

“Maintaining public safety is a priority but so is reducing the burden of red tape and it’s certainly something I’m passionate about.”

On Saturday, she hopes people look around their communities before they head down to the local primary school or town hall to cast their votes.

“I think people will cast their vote depending on how they feel, but there isn’t a particular community in NSW that can’t look around and think, wow, I’m getting a new school or a new hospital, the roads are being improved, there are extra public transport concessions.

“I think people will ask themselves if they’re better off, and if they feel they’re going to be better off into the future, and that’s ultimately what matters to people.”

Ms Berejiklian won the seat of Willoughby in 2003 by just 144 votes, after a tough competition against Labor’s candidate Pat Reilly, the popular long-time local mayor.

Although, four years later when the pair went head-to-head against, she romped home with a healthy 10.9 per cent swing to the Liberals. Hers is now the sixth safest seat in the state.

She served in the shadow cabinet before her party seized power, when she became Transport Minister, and later Deputy Leader and Treasurer.

When Mike Baird stepped down on January 19, 2017, she became premier and now faces her first election in the top job.

NSW goes to the polls on Saturday.