NSW election 2015: Andrews rides in to join attack on Liberals

VICTORIAN Premier Daniel Andrews will join NSW leader Luke Foley at a rally to reinforce Labor’s attack on the Liberal brand.

Opposition leader Luke Foley on the campaign trail. Picture: John Grainger

VICTORIA’S Premier Daniel ­Andrews will join the NSW election campaign on Sunday, appearing with Labor leader Luke Foley at a rally to reinforce the party’s ­attack on the Liberal brand.

The visit is part of Labor’s plan to diminish Premier Mike Baird’s popularity by linking him to Tony Abbott. Mr Andrews will echo a core Labor message that “Liberal choices hurt”. He will tie former Victorian Liberal premier Denis Napthine to Mr Baird and the Prime Minister.

“Same agenda, different face,” he will argue.

Labor’s campaign offensive will seek to elevate fears of funding “cuts” to health services, schools and TAFE and exploit Mr Abbott’s unpopularity, aiming to blur any lines of difference between state and federal Liberal governments.

The Victorian Labor Premier’s appearance will be used to send a message to NSW voters that they, too, can vote out a Coalition government after a single term, as Victorians did in November.

Mr Andrews will also support Labor’s central campaign theme opposing the Coalition’s plan to lease 49 per cent of the electricity distribution network to the private sector. The invitation to the “snap rally” sent to Labor supporters this week and advertised on social media makes it clear the event is being staged “to highlight opposition to Mike Baird and Tony ­Abbott’s plans to sell off our electricity network”.

In Victoria, a theme of Mr ­Andrews’s election campaign was to link Dr Napthine to Mr Abbott and target the Liberal brand. He also campaigned against the ­Coalition’s East West Link road project as Mr Abbott and Dr Napthine urged voters to support the estimated $18 billion project.

In the Queensland election, Labor also focused on the Liberal brand in its health and education campaigning. LNP ministers later said “federal factors” had affected the campaign.

Labor believes the final week of campaigning will be critical to the NSW outcome. Polls show the government is facing a two-party vote swing of about 10 per cent, which would result in the ­Coalition losing about 15 seats if the swing was uniform, but would allow it to retain government.

The rally, in the inner-west Sydney suburb of Burwood, will be at the same time Mr Baird ­officially launches the Liberal campaign at the City Recital Hall in Sydney’s Angel Place.