‘Casino Mike’ tries to reassure colleagues after torrid year

MIKE Baird has faced crisis after crisis in what has been a tough year for the NSW Premier. When he spoke today, one question kept coming up.

NSW Premier Mike Baird addresses the National Press Club in Canberra. Picture: Kym Smith

AUSTRALIA’S most chill premier is sending shivers through his government but today had a simple message for those nervous colleagues.

“I’ll just tell everyone to relax,” NSW’s Mike Baird told the National Press Club in Canberra.

That’s hard to do in a government which in recent months has lost a key by-election, seen street protests over pub closing times, lost broad public trust with a greyhound racing ban, and seen the departure of two senior ministers.

Mr Baird acknowledged he had over the past year been called “Casino Mike”, “Judas”, and “Dictator”.

And the premier further jangled nerves by warning:

• States would need “billions and billions and billions” more health revenue or the hospital system would be in danger from NSW election year 2019;

• He was likely to make mistakes because “you’ve got to be prepared to try and fail” although “if you fail every day it becomes very difficult;

• Changes to negative gearing should be looked at, no matter the opposition by the Turnbull federal government.

Mr Baird’s plea for relaxation was a response to the uncertainty created by his plans for a reshuffle next year rather than now.

Liberals are worried about disruption to departments, the likelihood of by-elections, and the possibility Mr Baird will use the time to reappraise his own position.

He was asked three times after his address whether he might consider standing down. But the strongest assurance he could give was where he would not be going.

He will not go federal, even though Canberra was “a lovely place for a holiday”.

And he presented his own colour glossy brochure listing KPIs in 12 areas such as hospital services, protecting vulnerable children, and improving education outcomes.

But it was an appearance dominated by the mistakes of the recent past.

“Of course we have to admit mistakes and the public would expect nothing less than that,” said the Premier.

He said the community want a Premier to go about his job and make a difference and to “share progress, positive and negative”.

“They also want you to be honest and some of these (performance areas) are really hard and we’re not doing well,” he said. Mr Baird said a tax overall won’t happen over the next two or three years but that “the biggest challenge we have is health”.

“If you look at the cost of health — and every state Treasury and the Commonwealth will tell you — if you look at the cost of health from 2020 to 2030, it is underfunded to the tune of billions, and billions and billions of dollars,” he said.

“There either needs to be some form of economic miracle where our economic growth surges to the Moon, or massive efficiencies are found that no one can see, or you are going to have to do something to promote or stimulate the economy or look at the revenue links to that service.

“I think it is inevitable we come back to that. Whatever the tax is and what the mix is and how is that is determined, that is obviously for a later day.”

Mr Baird supported Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull’s review of Section 18C of the Racial Discrimination Act but did not see a need for it to be changed