NSW election: there’s something about Mary Berejiklian on hustings

Gladys Berejiklian’s younger sister­ has become a key member of the Premier’s cheer squad in recent weeks.

‘I’m sure every family has a Mary’: Gladys Berejiklian looks back at her younger sister on their visit to Penrith Public School yesterday. Picture AAP

Buoyant from her success at a pre-election debate on Wednesday night, Gladys Berejiklian continued her assault on NSW Labor seats yesterday, striking the strong­hold of Londonderry in the city’s west.

But as the beaming Premier hopped on the Big Blue Bus after a speedy visit to the Barangaroo Sydney Metro site, she was joined by a special guest, her younger sister­ Mary, who has become a key member of Ms Berejiklian’s cheer squad in recent weeks.

Earlier this month, the younger Berejiklian came out swinging against social media trolls, telling one who took aim at her sibling’s nose to “grow some pubes”.

At the time, the Premier told reporters: “I’m sure every family has a Mary. You can tell her to tone it down, but that’s just Mary.”

Yesterday was no different. Dressed in trendy white sneakers and a blue T-shirt emblazoned with the words “Gladys Berejiklian for Willough­by”, Mary smiled and offered words of encouragement as her sister gave a press conference at a steelworks in the Londonderry electorate, held by Labor MP Prue Car on a margin of 8.8 per cent.

Against the sound of heavy mach­inery and hammering metal, Ms Berejiklian spruiked her government’s $89.7 billion infrastructure investment policy, boasting that while her government was building the “projects of the fut­ure”, Labor was cancelling them.

The Premier said crucial projects such as the Metro Southwest extension and Western Harbour Tunnel/Beaches Link projects would be cancelled if Michael Daley were to be successful in the polls tomorrow.

“They want to cancel projects, and if you cancel projects not only do you cancel fantastic congest­ion-busting opportunities for our residents across the state, but they’re also cancelling literally thousands and thousands of jobs,” Ms Berejiklian said.

Following a visit to Penrith Public School with Education Minister Rob Stokes to inspect the school’s $10 million upgrade, the bus rolled into Blacktown for a quick pit stop at charcoal chicken institution El Jannah.

With the day’s focus set firmly on infrastructure and jobs, it wouldn’t have been an election campaign without a cliche. The final stop for the Big Blue Bus for the day was Blacktown Hospital, where Ms Berejiklian met first-time mother Lauren Mitchell and cradled her newborn son, Jordan.