This article is more than 1 year old

This article is more than 1 year old

The choice between stadium and school funding has dominated the campaign launches of both major parties a fortnight out from the New South Wales state election.

On Sunday the premier, Gladys Berejiklian, urged voters to give her a chance to finish the transformation of Sydney’s infrastructure, saying that because of the hard work she and her team has done, “NSW can have it all”.

Directly addressing Labor’s attempts to paint her stadium redevelopment push as wasteful spending, and her government out of touch, Berejiklian said her government was able do a whole raft of projects at the same time, while also keeping the budget well managed.

“Our responsibility to the people of NSW is not just to rebuild the budget, revitalise the economy and get construction underway,” she said from the party’s launch in Penrith, in Sydney’s far west. “It is to finish the job we’ve started,.

NSW election: Labor fights to regain inner-Sydney strongholds Read more

“Too often in NSW, we’ve seen our hard work undone by the election of a Labor government. We’ve watched as their wasteful spending and incompetence has taken NSW backwards time and time again.

“Back to debt and deficit, chaos and corruption,” she said.

Polling released on the day of the campaign launches showed Labor had a slender lead over the Coalition. The Labor party launch in Revesby in Sydney’s south west – where Labor is hoping to win back the seat of East Hills – reflected a growing confidence within the party.

The Labor opposition leader, Michael Daley, opened his address to the party faithful by declaring the government was “afraid of us”.

Labor has centred its campaign on the government’s controversial stadiums plan, attempting to paint the Coalition as out of touch and insisting it would redirect spending to public education and health.

Daley stuck to that script on Sunday, accusing the government of “arrogance” and having “a sense of entitlement” and accusing it of having the wrong priorities.

NSW election roundup: Berejiklian hits back as stadium fight dominates campaign Read more

“The state of NSW cannot afford another four years of a government that has sold $70bn of your publicly-owned assets and wasted a whopping $14bn of those proceeds on bungled projects, mostly in Sydney,” he said.



Describing the government as “not normal”, Daley urged voters to elect Labor “before it becomes easier to get a seat in a stadium than a seat on the bus” and “before the Liberals and Nationals build more air-conditioned corporate boxes than air-conditioned classrooms’.

The centrepiece of Daley’s pitch to voters on Sunday was a “bold but necessary plan” to spend $2.7bn to fund public schools to 100% of the School Resourcing Standard by 2027.

Under the deal struck between states and the Commonwealth last year, public schools would be funded to 95% of the SRS by 2027.

Facebook Twitter Pinterest Bill Shorten speaks during the NSW Labor party election campaign launch in Revesby in south-west Sydney. Photograph: Joel Carrett/AAP

Labor’s commitment would see the shared state-federal funding lift to 100% for public schools, and would make NSW the only state to formalise that ambition.

Daley told the audience the commitment would mean an extra $1,500 every year for every student in NSW high public schools and more than $1,200 for every public primary school student.

“It means more teachers, more one-on-one time with students and more support staff,” he told the audience.

“It means every child will be given their chance.”

Daley also announced a $1bnn water fund to build and upgrade water infrastructure across NSW, and to a commitment to extend nurse-to-patient ratios into mental health units.

The Liberals have committed $2bn towards a new Western Metro line to Sydney’s new airport and pledged to have it open in time for the opening of the airport at Badgery’s Creek in 2026.

Facebook Twitter Pinterest Scott Morrison at the NSW Liberal campaign launch at Penrith Panthers leagues club in Sydney. Photograph: Mick Tsikas/AAP

Berejiklian said the line, which will run from the suburb of St Mary’s to the airport on a turn up and go basis, would transform Western Sydney.

In a speech that highlighted the Liberals record on infrastructure and strong economic management, Berejiklian focussed on the Coaltion’s record on spending on health and education.

Under Liberals and Nationals government she promised more teachers, more mental health services in high schools, and a promise to greatly increase after school care.

She has committed to ensuring that every primary school child will be able to access after school care between 7 am and 6 pm by 2021.

Berejiklian also highlighted the $8.4bn in new and upgraded hospitals in the last eight years and her promise to increase frontline staff by 8,000, including 5,000 nurses.

New South Wales election: new poll has Labor leading Coalition government Read more

The centrepiece new commitments in health were $1.3bnn to redevelop Bankstown-Lidcombe hospital, in the Labor held seat of Canterbury although also crucial in the marginal seat of East Hills. In contrast she said the Labor party had promised just $65m to upgrade the hospital.

The government also promised $780m for redevelopment of the John Hunter hospital in Newcastle. The hospital is the key health facility for the central coast and regional areas, which are potentially at risk for the Liberals in this election.

She also highlighted the government’s record on streamlining the delivery of services through ServiceNSW centres.

“When we came to office, a person attempting to engage with government services was forced to navigate Labor’s maze of more than 900 websites and more than 8000 phone numbers - I kid you not! Now, following the introduction of Service NSW, there is one website and one phone number for every single one of your interactions with government. “



