NSW Premier vows to fight to bitter end

NSW Premier Kristina Keneally has rejected the idea that the forthcoming state election is unwinnable for Labor.

Kristina keneally 70311

NSW Premier Kristina Keneally has rejected the blunt admission of her own campaign boss, ALP secretary Sam Dastiyari, that the forthcoming state election is unwinnable for Labor, vowing to fight to the bitter end.

Greeted yesterday by newspaper reports quoting Mr Dastyari as saying Opposition Leader Barry O'Farrell was going to "win it big", Ms Keneally responded with defiance.

"There might be some blokes in the Labor party who want to curl up in a corner, but this woman is tougher than that," she said.

Left faction powerbroker and upper house MP Luke Foley also reportedly said he sometimes felt like "Comical Ali" -- the nickname for Saddam Hussein's spokesman -- when publicly arguing that Labor could still snatch victory.

Ms Keneally acknowledged that if an election were called today her party would lose, but said she still refused to give up the fight. However, with polls showing Labor's primary vote hovering around 20 per cent, she will need an electoral miracle even to ease the pain of her party's defeat.

At the start of her first official media trip of the campaign, no miracles were forthcoming. Instead, her much-touted Fairness For Families campaign bus -- supposed to be on a four-day tour of marginal electorates -- broke down before it arrived, forcing campaign organisers to find a plainer, last-minute substitute.

At Maroubra Surf Lifesaving Club, where the Premier stopped for a sausage sizzle and to meet local nippers, passers-by underscored the scale of the challenge.

"They've had their go -- look at Labor's track record," said a resident of police minister Michael Daley's Maroubra electorate, who did not want to be named.

Another Maroubra local, Simon Keena, said he had voted Labor the "last few times", but was now looking elsewhere.

Ms Keneally announced $96.17 million in new funding for the NSW Police, and plans to phase out licensed shooting of flying foxes. She also attempted to bait Mr O'Farrell by accusing him of refusing to release policy detail, and keeping secrets in his "bottom drawer".

But Mr O'Farrell would not be drawn. The Opposition Leader held just one media event, at 9am yesterday at Meadowbank, in Sydney's northern suburbs, in the safe Liberal seat of Ryde, where he launched a $103m environment package.

The election promise included $40m for National Park maintenance, $10m for bush regeneration and $40m to create green corridors across the state. Mr O'Farrell's office also announced a $13m plan to install support officers in schools to tackle bullying.