Category Archives: Chris Minns

Chris Minns says documents show Liberals considered privatising parts of Sydney Water

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Labor to start final week of NSW election campaign by continuing pursuit of Perrottet government over its privatisation record

Documents canvassing the possible partial privatisation of a Sydney Water asset were compiled at the request of the New South Wales Treasury department, which the state Labor opposition will rely on to argue that the government was contemplating a broader sell-off of the asset.

Chris Minns will mark the start of the NSW election campaign’s final week on Sunday by continuing his pursuit of the Coalition over its record on privatisation, seeking to use documents compiled by the consultancy firm KPMG to argue that the premier, Dominic Perrottet, directed the public service to investigate a possible sale.

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What will it take to win the 2023 NSW election – and what happens if neither side wins a majority?

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Labor needs to pick up nine seats, but if neither major party can get to 47 seats the crossbench will determine the next premier

After three terms in power, the Liberal-National coalition government in New South Wales appears to be on shaky ground, falling behind in the polls and currently operating without a parliamentary majority.

With two weeks to go until the election, there’s still a chance of the Coalition or Labor forming majority or minority government – although a Coalition majority appears least likely.

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‘Plagued by scandal’: Albanese blasts Perrottet’s government as NSW Labor launches election campaign

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Prime minister received hero’s welcome as state opposition pledged $93m to hire 1,000 apprentices and trainees in the public sector

The prime minister, Anthony Albanese, has launched a scathing attack on the New South Wales premier Dominic Perrottet’s government, saying it is “plagued by scandal” and slamming its “deficit of character”.

Despite a series of public appearances with Perrottet in recent months in which he has been complimentary of the Coalition premier, Albanese used the official launch of the NSW Labor campaign on Sunday to issue a searing broadside on the government three weeks out from the state election.

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Labor hits back at Coalition attacks on super changes – as it happened

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Coalition will return ‘fiscal discipline’ to economy: Taylor

Taylor then outlines the Coalition’s basic pitch ahead of the next election: everything stays the same – and more austerity.

The first thing we will do when we get back into government is to re-establish the fiscal guard rails and the discipline that comes with it for ministers, bureaucrats and everybody. That is how you do this. Tax won’t be the focus. It will be making sure the economy grows faster than ever.

When it comes to tax, you describe all of the tax concessions as a hit list. Does that mean you think the system is perfect, nothing should ever be touched on tax?

No, we think the stage-three cuts need to go in place.

Is there any tax concession you would not touch?

Well, David, you asked about the fiscal guard rails. The key to this is to have budget balance as an objective in the budget. Labor has taken that out of the budget. As I said to you last time I was on this program, you need to make sure the economy grows faster than your spending. Now, Labor has taken these objective ace way. So they have lost all discipline.

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NSW Labor pledges $1bn state-owned investment company for renewable projects if elected

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‘Privatisation does not work. It has been a disaster for New South Wales and under Labor it stops,’ leader Chris Minns says

A New South Wales Labor government would create a $1bn state-owned energy security company to drive investment in renewable energy projects and lower prices in the state, the party’s leader, Chris Minns, has said.

On Sunday, Labor will pledge to establish a NSW “energy security corporation”, an investment vehicle for renewable energy projects in the state, should the party win the 24 March state election.

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‘I really was broken’: survivor welcomes Dominic Perrottet agreeing to ban gay conversion practices

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NSW premier gives bill ‘in-principle’ support as independent Alex Greenwich hails a ‘good day for our state’

Growing up as a teenager in the suburbs of Sydney, Chris Csabs was led to believe he needed to be “fixed”.

“I was gay and had grown up steeped in an ideology that told me that God had not made me that way. That there was a negative cause to my homosexuality,” he said.

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‘Silent epidemic’: almost two-thirds of Sydney’s gambling losses occur in city’s west

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Cost-of-living pressures, disadvantage and ‘oversaturation’ of machines in the region leading to higher levels of gambling-related harm, researchers say

Almost two-thirds of Sydney’s gambling losses come from western Sydney, with advocates concerned the cost-of-living crisis is exacerbating problem gambling in the region.

A research paper from Western Sydney University, which has called gambling-related harm a “silent epidemic”, also says three LGAs in western Sydney account for a third of Sydney’s total gambling losses.

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Labor well ahead of Dominic Perrottet’s Coalition in latest NSW election poll

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YouGov poll shows opposition would easily win a majority, with strong backing from young voters

A new poll shows Labor would comfortably defeat the Coalition at the New South Wales state election if the vote was held today.

The YouGov poll, published in the Sunday Telegraph, shows the Coalition well behind in both first preference and two-party preferred standings.

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NSW treasurer refuses to say if $1,000 a day pokies spending cap is too high as he ridicules Labor policy

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Key independent MP calls for a $100 daily limit as Coalition comes under pressure to release details of its cashless gaming card

The New South Wales treasurer, Matt Kean, has refused to say whether he believes a $1,000 a day spending limit on poker machines is too high, as the Coalition government faces increasing pressure to release details of its highly anticipated cashless gaming card.

The powerful crossbench MP Alex Greenwich has urged the Coalition to follow its colleagues in Tasmania by setting a $100 daily limit on pokies, saying a cap was “crucial” for cashless gaming to work at reducing gambling addiction in the state.

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NSW Labor counters Perrottet’s land tax with vow to scrap stamp duty for some first home buyers

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Properties worth up to $800,000 will incur no tax and a concession rate will apply to those up to $1m if opposition wins election, Chris Minns says

New South Wales Labor has pledged to eliminate stamp duty for first home buyers purchasing properties worth up to $800,000 if it wins the March state election, in a bid to counter the Perrottet government’s recent tax reforms.

Labor’s proposal, announced on Monday, would also apply a concession rate to homebuyers paying between $800,000 and $1m for their first property.

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‘It can be a difficult time’: Albanese helps to serve Christmas meal for Australians in need

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PM spends Christmas morning at Ashfield Uniting Church in Sydney’s inner west along with NSW Labor leader Chris Minns

Anthony Albanese has joined volunteers to serve a Christmas meal to vulnerable Sydneysiders and has acknowledged Australians who are doing it tough at what should be a joyful time of year.

Albanese spent the morning the same way he does every year, at the Ashfield Uniting Church in his inner-western Sydney electorate with the Rev Bill Crews.

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Renters in NSW would be able to transfer bond between properties under Labor election proposal

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State opposition leader Chris Minns also pushes for tighter rules around evicting tenants without reasonable grounds

Almost a million renters in New South Wales would be able to transfer their bond from one property to the next and couldn’t be kicked out of their homes without reasonable grounds given, under a plan proposed by state Labor.

The pledge ahead of the 2023 election comes amid soaring rents in Sydney and rising accommodation costs in regional areas, with NSW’s median rent increasing from $386 to $420 a week between 2016 and 2021.

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NSW Labor pledges to boost transport and teaching staff ahead of 2023 election bid

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Chris Minns has promised to build a local fleet of trains to replace the state’s ageing stock and 10,000 extra fixed teaching roles

New South Wales Labor leader Chris Minns has looked to galvanise party faithful 160 days out from the state election in March 2023.

He used a speech to a NSW Labor conference to promise a locally built fleet of trains to replace NSW’s ageing rail stock and 10,000 extra teachers.

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NSW Coalition down but not out as poll shows hung parliament a strong possibility

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Drop in popularity for Coalition and Labor suggests tight race in NSW election – and that independents could still play key role

Nearly six months out from the next New South Wales election, a new poll shows there is little separating the major parties, with a hung parliament a distinct possibility.

The latest Guardian Essential poll of 661 voters showed 36.4% would put the Coalition first on their ballot if an election were held in the state tomorrow, while 32% would choose Labor.

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