Get all your news in one place.
100’s of premium titles.
One app.
Start reading
AAP
AAP
Politics
Duncan Murray and Maureen Dettre

Leaders back on hustings in NSW election countdown

Dominic Perrottet and Minister for Local Government Wendy Tuckerman meet RFS volunteers at Taralga. (Bianca De Marchi/AAP PHOTOS) (AAP)

Premier Dominic Perrottet has turned up the heat on Labor, while Opposition Leader Chris Minns has hit the ground running as the countdown continues to the NSW election.

On Tuesday Mr Perrottet met with firefighters in regional NSW while Mr Minns kicked off his day with a frontbench team run.

The leaders are back on the hustings with a packed schedule of events, spruiking their policies in a final bid to convince voters to support their candidates on Saturday.

Mr Perrottet began the day in the Southern Tablelands town of Taralga, meeting with RFS volunteers as they prepared for a day of hazard reduction burning.

With just four days to go until voters go to the polls, he is trying to shore up the seat of Goulburn, which is held by Local Government Minister Wendy Tuckerman with a 3.1 per cent margin.

The day after the Parliamentary Budget Office (PBO) released its costings for the election policies made by the parties, both sides are attacking each other's economic credentials.

The coalition is estimated to deliver a $100 million surplus over the next four years, while Labor would add $1.4 billion, according to the budget office.

Mr Perrottet says Labor has "a black hole" in its costings after the PBO questioned the party's pledge to scrap the government's three per cent cap for public sector workers at zero cost to the bottom line.

Labor says the policy will cost nothing over four years because any increase will be offset by savings in the public sector.

"To fully offset these costs, the government would need to identify new productivity savings each year, ranging from $425 million in 2023/24 to $464 million in 2025/26," the PBO said.

Chris Minns says Labor would enact better protection of tenants' rights and personal information. (Nikki Short/AAP PHOTOS) (AAP)

Treasurer Matt Kean said public sector wages account for about 40 per cent of the total NSW budget, "and the PBO is warning Labor's wages policy risks the budget outlook at a time when we're facing economic headwinds".

Labor says it has calculated $3 billion in savings in its budget that will fund public sector wage increases.

Meanwhile, Mr Minns is heading back to the key battleground of western Sydney after starting the day with a team run with some of frontbench team, including Courtney Houssos, Rose Jackson, Ryan Park and Jo Haylen.

If it wins government, Labor is promising to tighten data rules for real estate agents to better protect rental tenants.

Labor says there is little regulation about how data is stored and protected when renters hand over their driver's licence details, work and address history, along with their bank statements.

It says while the information gathered by real estate agents is necessary, it should be better protected from data breaches.

The party would also review the role of the NSW Civil and Administrative Tribunal in rental disputes, and provide an additional $1 million for tenant advocacy services.

Mr Minns says the rental market is stacked against tenants.

"Anyone who rents in Sydney knows just how anxious and challenging a process it can be to find suitable accommodation, never mind the fear of having your data breached," he said.

"These are sensible changes which will help give renters the peace of mind they need."

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
One subscription that gives you access to news from hundreds of sites
Already a member? Sign in here
Our Picks
Fourteen days free
Download the app
One app. One membership.
100+ trusted global sources.