Berejiklian doubles down on promises

Gladys Berejiklian’s “have it all’’ election campaign spendathon has topped $28 billion, almost doubling Labor’s promises.

New South Wales Premier Gladys Berejiklian with Prime Minister Scott Morrison during a visit to St. Mary's train station in Sydney, yesterday. Picture: AAP

Gladys Berejiklian’s “have it all’’ election campaign spendathon has topped $28 billion, with the government almost doubling Labor’s promises as the Coalition seeks a third term in office.

Of the Coalition promises, $21bn is capital spending and $7bn recurrent or year-to-year spending. The figures, provided to The Australian by NSW Treasurer ­Dominic Perrottet’s office, could provide a political opening to Labor leader Michael Daley, who has attacked the government’s ­privatisation agenda and pledged to spend taxpayers’ funds more wisely. But Ms Berejiklian in her campaign launch on Sunday said she believed the Coalition had set up the budget, including through asset sales, so NSW could “have it all”.

The Coalition promises include $6.4bn for the Metro West project, $2.8bn for 5000 nurses and midwives, $2.5bn for duplicating 31km of the Great Western Highway and $2bn for 4600 teachers.

Other big promises include those announced at Ms Berejik­lian’s launch — $2bn for the North-South Rail to Western Sydney Airport; $1.3bn to redevelop Bankstown-Lidcombe Hospital, $864 million to upgrade St George and Ryde hospitals, and $960m to upgrade Princes Highway.

 

Labor, by contrast, has promised $14bn in spending, but $1bn in taxes, including a tax on luxury yachts and cars, and about $700m in savings measures.

Labor is attempting to use the Coalition spendathon in the final days of the campaign as justification to accuse the Liberals and ­Nationals of a secret agenda to sell off the rest of the government’s electricity assets. Former premier Mike Baird leased 49 per cent of the electricity “poles and wires” after winning a mandate to do so at the 2015 state election, reaping $30bn for infrastructure. Still in public ownership is 49 per cent of the electricity industry, including half of Ausgrid and the country-based Essential ­Energy.

The Australian is aware that some ministers wanted Ms Berejiklian to take the policy of selling the rest of the assets to the election to pay for more infrastructure.

Instead, Ms Berejiklian is promising billions more in infrastructure without the sale, which suggests the state government will need to increase debt.

At a news conference in Lap­stone yesterday, Mr Daley called on Ms Berejiklian to “come clean” about her funding plans as she couldn’t promise to “throw billions of dollars around” without selling government assets. When asked what assets he expected to be sold by the NSW Liberal government should it remain in power after March 23, Mr Daley rattled off a long list of potential privatisation targets. “Sydney Water, more hospitals, more buses, more trains and the rest of the electricity network,” Mr Daley said. “If you want to keep those things in public hands, vote for me. If you’re not worried, vote for the Liberals.”

Mr Daley yesterday announced a further 5000 teachers would be rolled out over the first four years if he was elected as part of Labor’s promised $2.7bn education funding package.

Mr Perrottet defended his party’s spending plans last night: “The NSW budget is firmly in the black, our triple A rating is secure, we have no net debt and our net worth is increasing.”