Premier Mike Baird dodged questions on Wednesday over whether Mr Abbott would be invited to campaign with him during his re-election bid, saying: "I will do whatever is required to win this election". The NSW election is less than eight weeks away. As Fairfax Media reported on Monday, Liberal internal polling showed the party's primary vote in NSW lost two percentage points in the week after Mr Abbott's decision to grant a knighthood to Prince Philip. Mr Kennett praised Mr Baird's "sound leadership", personal values and economic nous, but feared if the federal problems persist "there will be people who for a whole range of reasons want to use the [NSW] election to send a message to Canberra". A Baird government loss would be "a disaster for NSW" and Mr Abbott should "accept what is happening" and stand aside, Mr Kennett said. Just as the federal government's performance severely eroded the electoral chances of the Queensland Liberals, which appear set to lose power, the NSW government was also at risk, he said.

"At least 10, 20, 25 per cent of the [Queensland] result was caused by the reputation of the federal government and/or its leader, and that could actually be the case in NSW," Mr Kennett said. "Whereas Tony Abbott continually talks about Team Australia, I think he should also be thinking very seriously about Team Liberals." While Mr Abbott worked hard and performed well on the international stage, "in terms of domestic politics, it's a shambles". "Not in the same way that the Labor government was a shambles, but a shambles in the way that there is no certainty of policy," Mr Kennett said. Whereas Tony Abbott continually talks about Team Australia, I think he should also be thinking very seriously about Team Liberals. Former Victorian Premier Jeff Kennett

"You can blame the Senate as much as you like, but that is part of the challenge of leadership - to understand where the opposition lies and to be able to find a way through". The federal government's problems were self-inflicted and the public was confused and "lining up with baseball bats", he said. Greiner: Abbott woes unlikely to hurt Baird However, Mr Greiner downplayed the implications of the federal ructions, saying it would have "very little effect" in NSW.

"I think all the evidence is that federal politics has very little impact [at a state level] and I don't think there was a huge impact in Queensland either," he said, adding claims to the contrary were media "hogwash". Mr Greiner said Mr Baird was a very different proposition to Mr Newman and his Queensland re-election bid. "He's got trust, he's got respect and the government has overwhelmingly kept its promises," he said, adding that proceeds from proposed asset sales would be spent on infrastructure – a more appealing prospect for voters - rather than being used to pay off debt, as was largely the case in Queensland. "I have confidence in the people of NSW and their capacity to see where the future lies," Mr Greiner said. Asked whether Mr Baird should invite Mr Abbott help sell the government's message, Mr Greiner declined to comment, saying "I'm not giving him advice".

Baird: "I will do whatever is required to win this election" Speaking on radio station 2UE on Wednesday, Mr Baird did not directly address questions over whether Mr Abbott, a close friend, would be invited to campaign in NSW. Mr Baird said the federal government had helped fund NSW infrastructure and "of course Tony Abbott and the federal government would play a role" in the campaign. Asked again if Mr Abbott would physically stand alongside him on the campaign trail, Mr Baird said: "I will do whatever is required to win this election".

In Queensland, the Newman government had been pushing a plan to use privatisation proceeds of $28 billion to pay down the state's debt. The Baird government also wants to lease the state's electricity "poles and wires" to pay for a suite of big-ticket infrastructure items, such as a second harbour rail crossing. Mr Baird told 2UE the privatisation plan was "the right thing to do" because it would drive down electricity prices and help fund the infrastructure Sydney's growing population needed. Asked about the Newman government's electoral mauling, Mr Baird said "I'm not pretending this is easy", but accused Queensland Labor of running a dishonest scare campaign on power prices.