Get all your news in one place.
100’s of premium titles.
One app.
Start reading
AAP
AAP
Politics
Luke Costin

Minns in bellwether seat as NSW poll 'down to wire'

In the dying days of the NSW election campaign both leaders will target key seats. (Justin Lloyd/AAP PHOTOS) (AAP)

Labor leader Chris Minns is trying his luck in the bellwether seat of Monaro as he presses his claim to give NSW a fresh start.

With two days of campaigning left until election day, nearly 12 per cent of voters have already cast ballots and more than 500,000 have applied for a postal vote.

Buoyed by a strong performance against Premier Dominic Perrottet in a final campaign debate on Wednesday night, Mr Minns waded into the government territory of Monaro on Thursday.

Nationals MP Nichole Overall who took the seat in a by-election after former deputy premier John Barilaro retired, holds the seat with a margin of 11.6 per cent.

Centred around Queanbeyan and held by a member of government for 86 of the past 96 years, the electorate is a critical part of Labor's potential path to minority rule.

Mr Minns appeared at a Queanbeyan cafe at dawn with Labor's candidate, Steve Whan, to announce $50 million funding for urgent road upgrades.

"We know many parts of this part of NSW have been affected by flooding like many regional towns," he told reporters.

"There's been major problems with road infrastructure, potholes in particular. Unsafe grading right across NSW is one of the leading reasons why Labour has announced a $650 million emergency road package for regional NSW," he said.

There was speculation he would be joined by Prime Minister Anthony Albanese on the hustings but Mr Minns said the prime minister had a busy day with federal parliament sitting.

"He's been a big supporter of our efforts to overturn 12 years of coalition government in NSW," he said.

Meanwhile Mr Perrottet remains optimistic despite polls predicting more than a decade of coalition government will end on Saturday.

When asked which seats he hoped to win, he nominated Leppington in Sydney's southwest and Mr Minns' ultra marginal electorate of Kogarah.

"There's a lot of seats and we're not taking any vote for granted," he told Sydney radio 2GB.

His first campaign trail stop on Thursday is the Sydney electorate of Drummoyne, flanked by Liberal candidate Stephanie Di Pasqua to make a sports funding announcement.

The leaders made their final pitches to 100 undecided voters in Penrith on Wednesday night, with western Sydney crucial to electoral success and where one third of voters live.

After the final debate of the campaign 48 per cent of the audience said Mr Minns came out on top, 32 per cent went Mr Perrottet's way, with the remaining 20 per cent undecided.

Sign up to read this article
Read news from 100’s of titles, curated specifically for you.
Already a member? Sign in here
Related Stories
Top stories on inkl right now
Our Picks
Fourteen days free
Download the app
One app. One membership.
100+ trusted global sources.