NSW election 2023: Chris Minns embraced by Anthony Albanese at Labor’s launch

There was an almost presidential level of hoopla at NSW Labor’s campaign launch as Chris Minns strode into the ­embrace of Anthony Albanese.

NSW Labor Leader Chris Minns with Anthony Albanese in Sydney on Sunday. Picture: AAP

There was an almost presidential level of hoopla on display at NSW Labor’s campaign launch on Sunday as leader Chris Minns strode across the stage in a swell of ­triumphal music and into the ­embrace of Anthony Albanese.

This was the Prime Minister putting his mark on the election campaign, enthusiastically backing in the man he introduced to the roaring crowd as “my friend, the next premier of NSW”.

Against a sea of red T-shirted true believers packed on to the stage at the Marana Auditorium in Hurstville, in Sydney’s south, Mr Albanese described Mr Minns as “a leader of compassion and empathy … a leader who doesn’t pick fights but doesn’t shy away from them either”.

Mr Minns used the campaign launch to question Dominic Perrottet’s pledge to abandon privatisation of public assets, claiming his opponent would sell Sydney Water if re-elected, despite the Premier ruling it out last week.

Mr Minns said the Coalition had made the same promise before the last election, only to then sell off the government’s remaining stake in WestConnex and large parts of the bus network.

“Big companies cannot wait to get their hands on a monopoly asset like our water,” Mr Minns said. “No flies on them, they’re smart to buy it – but don’t elect a government that is dumb enough to sell it.”

Mr Minns pledged Labor would never sell Sydney Water, Hunter Water, Essential Energy or the remaining stake in NSW electricity assets “because once they’re gone and you’ve sold off everything else, how do you build for the future?”

Last week, in a major policy reversal, Mr Perrottet ruled out privatisation of public assets, effect­ively burying the “asset recycling” tool that has funded billions of dollars in infrastructure projects.

Chris Minns and wife Anna at Labor’s campaign launch in Hurstville, southern Sydney on Sunday. Picture: Jonathan Ng

Mr Minns said Mr Perrottet’s sudden about-face could not be believed. “Over the last 12 years, Dominic Perrottet has built a political philosophy, and economic ideology, and a parliamentary career on the foundation stone of privatisation. As long as he is premier, privatisations will never stop. I’ll build as much infrastructure as I can, as soon as I can, wherever I can, but I will not privatise assets to do it,” he said.

“There is no point in selling your house to fund an upgrade of your driveway.”

Mr Minns acknowledged the presence of former premier Morris Iemma - the last person to win an election for Labor in NSW, 16 years ago, but did not mention Kristina Keneally, who lost the March 2011 election to Barry O’Farrell.

Mr Minns also paid tribute to his father, John, a teacher, in the audience, as he focused on Labor’s plans for education and training.

Labor will offer 10,000 temporary teachers a permanent role and create 1000 extra apprenticeships across the NSW government, on top of the 200 apprentices who would be taken on to build the new fleet of Tangara trains and a further 1000 to be trained each year at TAFE centres of excellence in western Sydney, Illawarra and the Hunter.

A Minns government would also deliver new university scholarships for thousands of workers in the public health system and students undertaking a health ­degree would be eligible for a ­subsidy on their study expenses if they committed to working a minimum of five years in the ­public health system. Students undertaking a health degree would be eligible to apply for a study subsidy of $12,000 to help pay for their degree.

Mr Minns also announced Labor would invest $70m to build three helicopter ambulance bases to reduce emergency response times in regional and rural NSW.

The Prime Minister compared a future Minns administration with the Perrottet government “falling apart before our eyes, cracking like an imported light rail carriage, breaking down like an outsourced ferry, plagued by scandal, dogged by resignation.

“And - it still boggles my mind to say this - even stooping so low as to rort bushfire aid,” Mr Albanese said, referring to an investigation that found that the office of then-deputy premier John Barilaro diverted the bulk of a $100m bushfire recovery program away from Labor-held seats.

“Imagine the deficit of character it takes to even think of doing that, let alone doing it,” he said.