NSW state election: Premier waiting for a voter epiphany

NSW Premier Gladys Berejiklian on the campaign trail at Brunswick Heads Surf Club. Picture: Nathan Edwards

Gladys Berejiklian appears to be waiting for a voters’ epiphany in her attempts to win a third ­Coalition term of office — a moment at the ballot box next Saturday week where the elector, uninspired by this campaign, just cannot bring themselves to go back to “bad old Labor”.

The NSW Premier admitted as much to The Australian yesterday — claiming voters would think about their future and even the future of their kids when it came to casting their vote.

It must be disturbing to the Premier that she has thrown the kitchen sink in terms of capital works promises at the electorate — there is construction as far as the eye can see — and it still might not be enough to win her majority government or government at all.

The problem for the past two years for Berejiklian has always been messaging and a failure to stick to a coherent narrative.

That and the fact critical projects such as the north west metro are set to come on line post-election, meaning while construction is under way on many things, after eight years people do not feel better off.

“You can’t just make decisions to keep everyone happy,” she said, ironic given she agreed to two stadiums, jeopardising her electoral chances, because she was trying to keep both the NRL and the SCG Trust happy.

Labor has been more effective with a consistent “Schools and Hospitals before Stadiums” pitch, even though this is misleading in that the government is already building all three.

And so an electorate that cried out for the last eight years of the Labor government for more infrastructure may now have had enough of so much being built so quickly without the light at the end of the tunnel. The Premier conceded yesterday this race for change “absolutely” could cost her next week.

For now, $28 billion of promises behind her, the Premier was on the North Coast yesterday to try to convince electorates that don’t like change that she has done much for them and they should return her. It’s a tough ask.

You’d expect Lismore and Tweed to be among the first to go on election night — and the formerly safe seat of Coffs Harbour is also said to be lineball.

Berejiklian made clear who she thinks deserves to be re-elected with her comment that the result was “up to the people and I have absolute confidence they’ll do the right thing”.

She’s tried rebates, spending on schools, hospitals, forcing schools to create more after school care places, attacking Labor, threatening the consequences of the Shooters being in a hung parliament. Still it’s 50-50.

Now the state’s 45th Premier waits for the hopeful epiphany.