For the bleary-eyed listeners who tuned into Sydney’s 2GB radio station on Thursday morning, a treat: two state political leaders talking over one another about the merits of privatising public assets to pay for infrastructure projects, and whether public-sector wages caps are a good idea.
The first debate of the New South Wales election campaign, between the premier, Dominic Perrottet, and the opposition leader, Chris Minns, was fiery without any real flashpoint.
The curious format – which saw both leaders ask each other three questions while being allowed to interject and interrupt each other, with the host, Ben Fordham, only occasionally intervening – did offer an insight into the pitches both leaders are honing as NSW approaches the polls.
Perrottet used his time to make the same rhetorical point, asking Minns whether he would have built major infrastructure projects such as WestConnex and the Sydney Metro if Labor had been in government and to explain how he would he have paid for them.
The point was twofold: to remind 2GB’s listeners of the government’s record; and to suggest infrastructure spending would come to a halt under Labor.
During its 12 years in power, the Coalition’s playbook has been to use the proceeds of privatised public assets – such as the state electricity network – to pay for major infrastructure.
It’s proved a vote winner in the past but Labor is going to this election promising to end privatisation. It points to the costs of those privatisations for voters – such as the extensive tolling network across Sydney’s motorways – and the damage to state revenue from the sale of public assets.
The Coalition was “flogging off the family jewels and home” to pay for the credit card bill, Minns said, pointing to the state’s $11.4bn deficit.
“You refuse to acknowledge that the M4, for example, will be paid off six times over,” as a result of privatised toll road payments, Minns said to Perrottet during the debate.
While Perrottet said he has “no plans” for any sales of public assets, he also would not rule out further privatisation.
But the premier is keen to remind voters of the previous NSW Labor government’s record on infrastructure, and Minns was loath to say whether infrastructure projects would be funded by increasing debt.
Instead he said infrastructure could be paid for through dividends from state-owned organisations.
Perrottet scoffed at that suggestion, questioning whether Labor’s removal of a public-sector wages cap would also hurt the budget bottom line and accusing Minns of wanting to run the economy “like a school tuckshop”.
“[Sydney Metro is] an $18.5bn project ... you can’t build those projects on dividends,” he said.
Minns stuck to his favoured territory: funding for the NSW health and education sectors, and the overseas procurement of transport assets which have led to some projects – such as the Sydney light rail – being beset by problems.
“The current government doesn’t believe in Australian-made,” Minns said.
On poker machine reform, where Perrottet has unveiled plans for a cashless gaming card while Minns has plumped only for a trial, Fordham asked the premier why previous governments had not taken on the clubs sector.
“Politics,” he said.
Expect plenty more of that over the next six weeks.
