Election spendathon in NSW

NSW voters looking for an informed, mature debate on the future of the nation’s largest state are entitled to be underwhelmed by the weekend’s campaigning. Opposition Leader Michael Daley kicked off on Saturday with a display of gesture politics. He promised to ban single-use plastic bags, drinking cups and straws within 100 days of victory.

The big spending flurries on both sides were reserved for yesterday’s campaign launches. And despite years of evidence that spending billions of extra dollars does not automatically translate into improved school results, Mr Daley pledged Labor would make NSW the first state to fund public education to “100 per cent of the Gonski standard” with $2.7 billion extra. “This is good old-fashioned Labor,” he said. That could be the problem, putting spending before outcomes. Far from being outdone in the spending stakes, Premier Gladys Berejiklian yesterday lifted her spending pledges for schools and hospitals to $14.9bn. In an apparent acknowledgment of her government’s unpopularity with women aged 35 to 50, Ms Berejiklian again dipped into the public purse, promising generous rebates for couples investigating the need for IVF treatment.

In a sensible move, she will cut the costs to parents of before and after-school care and make school playgrounds, halls or classrooms available for before and after-school care and holiday care from 7am to 6pm. It will be a popular, practical initiative for families without such access.

The fact Ms Berejiklian felt able to confidently announce that NSW can “have it all’’ stems from eight years of sound economic management by the Coalition. In the interests of jobs, growth and investment, building on the state’s sound financial position should be a priority for both sides. Labor, unfortunately, has promised to reverse the public sector wages cap. For all that, Mr Daley’s confidence that he can win has grown, boosted by a few good polls. Ms Berejiklian, as Andrew Clennell writes today, appears to be “trying not to lose”. Twelve days out, it is still either side’s race to win or lose.