NSW state election: Gladys ‘knows in her heart’ she can win

Gladys Berejiklian believes electors will opt for “authenticity’’ and she can win majority government.

NSW Premier Gladys Berejiklian meets farmer Darryl Boyd on the campaign trail in Lismore. Picture: Nathan Edwards

Gladys Berejiklian believes NSW electors will vote for “authen­ticity’’ and that she can win ­majority government on March 23 as she pins her hopes on a shift in momentum in the final days of the election campaign.

In an interview with The Australian yesterday, the NSW Premier said she “knows in my heart’’ she can still win a majority victory, despite polls predicting a hung parliament.

Ms Berejiklian, on a campaign sweep through the crucial marginal northern seats of Tweed, Ballina and Lismore and fending off turbulence created by federal Coalition divisions, said NSW voters would “think about the ­future’’ when they arrived at the ballot box.

A Newspoll published this week put the Coalition and Labor in a 50-50 two-party-preferred deadlock — a 4.3 per cent swing against the government — which if repeated across the state would result in the loss of six seats for the Coalition and wipe out the government’s majority.

Labor’s “Schools and Hospitals before Stadiums’’ slogan has been effective on the north coast and in other rural and regional seats, despite the government’s program of spending tens of billions of dollars on schools and hospitals.

Ms Berejiklian conceded she “absolutely” could suffer on polling day from the government having “made decisions to take the state forward” and being a big-building government which caused disruption. She said she believed people knew that when transport and other projects came online, they would feel “relief”.

Ms Berejiklian told The Australian the election result was “up to the people and I have absolute confidence they’ll do the right thing”.

The Premier said she was confident NSW voters would make the “right decision for them”.

“When people go to the ballot box and make that decision they’ll think about the future, they’ll think about their kids, they’ll think about which side of politics is going to make sure my kids have a job, they’ve got good schools and hospitals to go to but also that we’re building projects which will make a difference to their lives.

“All the Labor Party wants to do is axe things. They don’t know how to create jobs. By cancelling the F6, Western Harbour Tunnel, the Metro [rail line] down to Bankstown, stadiums … [this action by Labor] will cost NSW tens of thousands of jobs.”

Ms Berejiklian and her team believe leadership ructions in both the federal Liberal and Nationals parties have harmed her government’s chances.

Some senior Coalition strategists believe federal factors could rob it of 1 per cent of its two party-preferred vote, which could be the difference between majority and minority government.

Deputy Premier John Barilaro on Tuesday told federal Nationals to “shut up” and wait for “annihilation” at the federal election before engaging in leadership talk that could cost the NSW Nationals seats and Ms Berejiklian her ­government.

Ms Berejiklian would not comment on the effect of federal implications on the state result. “But … I know as someone who cares deeply about the community, they want to know every day when I open my mouth that I am there for them. And they want to know I’m working and focusing on the community and that’s why I’m obsessed by that and I don’t get distracted,’’ she said.

She said there was “a clear choice about who’s offering a better future for NSW’’.

The Premier’s north coast sweep started with an appearance at a preschool attended by Lismore Nationals’ candidate Austin Curtin, who she revealed had attended the preschool himself.

Ms Berejiklian later visited a Lismore hay farm, where she railed against Labor’s proposed tax on luxury cars, saying it would add $7000 to the cost of a prime mover.

The visit was marred later in the day when a man, who claimed to be a journalist for a local radio station but was a former local Greens candidate, was manhandled by Ms Berejiklian’s staff at Brunswick Heads Surf Club in the seat of Ballina as he tried to ask her a question about koalas.

The Premier said of the prospect of a late momentum shift: “There’ll always be a proportion of people who will decide on the day but what I know in my heart is ­people see authenticity, people know when you’re doing something for the right reasons.

“If you’re the premier of the state or government of the day, you can’t just make decisions to keep everyone happy. You have to make decisions that take the state forward and we’ve demonstrated our capacity to do that.”

The $8 billion Sydney north west metro rail line is set to open in May and Ms Berejiklian said “of course” had the controversial transport project opened earlier it would have helped her electoral prospects: “There’s no denying that … but what would the option have been?

“If the Labor government was still in power we’d have nothing.

“In the regions … the hospitals and the road upgrades are the biggest issues but in the cities it’s relieving congestion.”

She defended her lavish spending promises for the campaign — $28bn and counting, compared with Labor’s $21bn.

Lismore and Tweed are marginal Nationals seats.

The Nationals also hope to take Ballina off the Greens.

In Lismore, held by 2.9 per cent, the Premier promised $20m for 2300 extra preschool places around the state.