Gladys: ‘Give me the job in my own right’

Being elected with a mandate would make an “enormous difference” to her leadership, Premier Gladys Berejiklian has declared. Plus Liberals commit to more money to fast trains, and NSW gets a bigger share of the GST pie.

Being elected with a mandate would make an “enormous difference” to her leadership, Premier Gladys Berejiklian has declared.

A week from the NSW election, the Premier told The Saturday Telegraph she wants to be voted in by the people instead of just her colleagues to take her leadership “to the next level”.

NSW Premier Gladys Berejiklian with her sisters Rita (left) and Mary. Picture: Jonathan Ng

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Ms Berejiklian said her gender was still a “novelty” and said she hoped the election would change that for women who follow her.

“It’s important to me that people don’t think of me as a female premier, they think of me as a premier. Otherwise the novelty sticks,” she said.

“The best thing I can do to support other women coming through the ranks is to do a good job. When you have a critical mass of women this won’t be a novelty anymore.”

A win next Saturday would make her NSW’s first elected female premier after she was propelled into the leadership when Mike Baird quit just over two years ago,

But locked 50-50 in the polls, and at risk in a string of seats both in Sydney and the regions, Ms Berejiklian has a serious battle on her hands.

“I feel if I’m elected in my own right that gives me the ability to take my leadership to the next level,” she said.

“I think having a mandate of the people makes an enormous difference.

“I’m deeply grateful to my colleagues that they elected someone unanimously with an unpronounceable surname, non-English speaking background, female — I’m grateful for that and I haven’t taken a single day for granted.

“But I’m here for the community — I’m here for the people of the state.”

Speaking to The Saturday Telegraph on a tour of the north coast battleground this week, she said she had always done things her own way, but wanted a mandate.

Asked what specifically she would do differently with a mandate, the Premier

Gladys, Rita and Mary are a close-knit family. Picture: Jonathan Ng

was coy, but hinted she had plans to change how voters engage with parliament and give voters a “greater say in between elections”.

She said she would “continue to be bold”.

“We now live in a modern democracy and demands are different. Social media didn’t exist 10 years ago. People have different expectations and I feel elected representatives need to step up and recognise that and look at different ways we can give people a say in between elections,” she said.

Yesterday, Ms Berejiklian met voters at Revesby in the East Hills electorate, which is the Liberals’ most marginal seat.

She said the Coalition was not taking any seat for granted in the campaign.

“We know it’s a tight contest and there is a lot at stake,” Ms Berejiklian said.

LIBS PUT RAIL ON THE FAST TRACK

Work will begin on a fast rail network for NSW linking regional areas to Sydney and Canberra, with the government investing money for the first steps to get the project moving as an election pledge.

The government will today announce $295 million for work on four routes — a small portion of the billions required but an indication the government is committed to transforming rail in NSW.

The routes include Sydney to Canberra, Sydney to Nowra, Sydney to Newcastle and Port Macquarie and Sydney to the Central West.

Premier Gladys Berejiklian said while she couldn’t provide “door to door service” for everyone, it was clear to her that people in Sydney and regional NSW wanted “better connectivity”.

“The $295 million will allow us to get the early work done, putting in place the building blocks for the more transformative work that will deliver fast rail and give people greater choice about where they live and how they commute to work,” Ms Berejiklian said yesterday.

Seven days to go.

The government was criticised last year when it revealed its intention to build high speed rail but had only invested $4 million in the project for a scoping study.

Ms Berejiklian told The Saturday Telegraph, “you can’t just throw money at something when you don’t know what the answer is”.

“Last year we appointed high speed rail expert Professor Andrew McNaughton to confirm the most appropriate routes, train speeds and station locations and now we are taking the next steps to make fast rail a reality,” Ms Berejiklian said.

The work announced on Saturday will include $80 million for work on a new straightened route to a high speed standard between Menangle and Yerrinbool, north of Goulburn, to prepare the Sydney to Canberra route.

NSW GETS GST BONUS

NSW is set for a $1 billion GST windfall with a decline in property sales resulting in the state getting a bigger slice of the pie.

It comes after Federal Treasurer Josh Frydenberg accepted the recommendations of the Commonwealth Grants Commission on GST revenue sharing for 2019-20.

The report said “downward revisions to its value of property sales” had increased NSW's GST share.

The changes were partially offset by growth in taxable land values and taxable payrolls.

It should see the state’s GST share increase from 27.4 per cent to 27.9 per cent.

Originally published as Gladys: ‘Give me the job in my own right’