NSW state election: big-spending Berejiklian says ‘have it all’

Gladys Berejiklian promises billions for schools and hospitals; Michael Daley woos rural voters as both sides launch their campaigns.

Campaigns launched: Gladys Berejiklian says “NSW can have it all” as she promised billions more for schools and hospitals. Michael Daley says Labor is “united, ready and willing to govern’’.

Gladys Berejiklian has declared “NSW can have it all” as she promised billions more for schools and hospitals in a campaign launch aimed at countering the Sydney stadium controversy, which has ignited Labor’s hopes of stealing victory at the March 23 poll.

As the Premier trumpeted her government’s infrastructure spen­d­ing program and the strength of the NSW economy, Opposition Leader Michael Daley pledged to spend money more wisely as he targeted rural voters and declared Labor “united, ready and willing to govern’’.

Labor now believes it is in sight of an upset victory and Mr Daley told his launch at Revesby Workers Club in the southwest Sydney marginal seat of East Hills: “We can win this election!”

Mr Daley accused the government of “arrogance and a sense of entitlement”, insisting he would not back away from his promise to abandon the government’s stadium rebuilds and would redirect­ funds to replacing hundreds of demountable school buildings­ with new airconditioned classrooms.

The launches came after a Nine newspapers poll put Labor ahead 51-49 per cent on a two-party-preferred basis. A poll published last night by The Daily Telegraph had the government trailing 51-49 in the marginal seat of Lismore, on the north coast, and ahead 51-49 in the far-west seat of Barwon — a 12 per cent swing compared with the last election. Labor needs 13 seats to win majority­ government, while the Coalition would find itself in minority government if it lost six seats.

The Premier, launching her campaign in Penrith in Sydney’s west, made it clear she was set to “go negative” on Labor in the final two weeks of the campaign.

She warned of dire consequences should the opposition be elected on March 23, and a return­ to the style of the scandal-ridden former Labor government sent packing eight years ago.

“Make no mistake, Labor haven’t changed,” she said.

“We cannot allow Labor to jeopardise our future. Not this time — not on my watch.”

Ms Berejiklian promised to lift spending on school building by $917 million, with eight new projects; pledged $1.3 billion to rebuild the Bankstown-Lidcombe Hos­pital; $780m for the John Hunter Hospital in Newcastle to be re­developed; and $2bn over four years for the north-south rail line to Western Sydney Airport.

Michael Daley greets his mother, Mary, at Labor’s campaign launch. Picture: Justin Lloyd

This brought infrastructure spending on schools and hospitals planned by the government to $14.9bn and the total campaign promises by the Premier to more than $20bn, in what has turned into a spendathon.

Defending her stadiums policy against Labor’s “Schools and hospitals before stadiums” slogan, Ms Berejiklian said: “As Premier, I will never ask you to choose between having world-class schools, hos­pitals, transport, roads, stadiums or cultural facilities — because the hard work we’ve done today means NSW can have it all.”

With Ms Berejiklian’s vote said to be soft by both political sides among women aged 35-50, she topped an IVF $500 rebate announcement on Saturday with a $120m pledge towards a package to attempt to guarantee access to before- and after-school care for all NSW children by 2021.

Mr Daley, knowing he needs to win several marginal seats in the bush to take office, committed to a $1bn regional water fund to “improve­ water security and supply­”, in the wake of controversy over the handling of the Murray-Darling Basin by Nationals ministers.

He promised an extra $2.7bn in education funding that would guarantee “100 per cent” of the recommended Gonski education standard on literacy and num­eracy for schoolchildren — or $1567 a student.

And he repeated a promise to build a new hospital in northwest Sydney, as part of a pledge of $3.6bn for the upgrade of eight hospitals across the state, as well as funding 600,000 free TAFE places over the next 10 years for critical trades.

NSW Premier Gladys Berejiklian and sisters Rita, Mary, mother Arsha and father Krikorat at the NSW Liberal campaign launch at Penrith Panthers Leagues Club in Sydney.

Mr Daley also announced $900m to fix regiona­l roads and a large part of the hospital and schools funding is earmarked for outlying regional centres including Bega, Goulburn, Tweed, Shellharbour and Shoalhaven.

Both leaders mentioned Bega, held by Transport Minister Andrew­ Constance, in their speeches, while Ms Berejiklian mentioned Finance Minister Victo­r Dominello’s seat of Ryde.

Mr Daley said Ms Berejiklian led a government “which so generously supports and favours the high-flying insiders and vested interests of this town, the people who think they own Sydney, a government that fails to understand whom they are serving.

“Just ask the people of Menindee, starved of water, or the businesses that have collapsed as a result of the Sydney light rail.”

The Liberals decided not to use Scott Morrison in their campaign speeches, despite the Prime Minister attending the launch.

Bill Shorten, by contrast, gave a speech where he described the Labor campaign launch as having a “festival­ atmosphere” before jokin­g that “that might mean the Liberals would try and close the event down” — a reference to tough new restrictions introduced by the governmen­t for music ­festivals.