NSW Treasurer Matt Kean says a leading independent candidate in the NSW election is a fake who deserves to have her T-shirts “smeared in black oil” over her links with petrol outlet Caltex.
Mr Kean set upon on teal independent Helen Conway for trying to shift his key ally, moderate Liberal MP Felicity Wilson, from the seat of North Shore.
Corporate lawyer and company director Helen Conway worked for Caltex Australia for 13 years before stints at the NRMA, non-profits and state-owned Endeavour Energy.
“Helen Conway is running around trying to pretend she’s a climate warrior, but she’s actually a fraud,” Mr Kean said.
“She’s built her entire career on the back of Big Oil. Helen Conway’s teal T-shirts should be smeared in black oil.”
Ms Conway’s policy positions are mostly locally-focused but include commitments to legislating a 60 per cent emissions reduction target by 2030, and banning new fossil fuel projects.
Ms Conway has been contacted for comment.
Asked on Friday if Mr Kean’s comments were appropriate, Premier Dominic Perrottet declined to respond, saying he was not aware of the context.
Meanwhile, Women’s Safety Minister Natalie Ward has accused the Labor hopeful for the health portfolio of using inappropriate language at a forum, as several wars of words mar the election campaign.
Labor’s Ryan Park told an event hosted by the NSW Nurses and Midwives’ Association in Shellharbour he would not be “dicking people around” on the issue of mental health staff ratios.
Mr Park said if his party won government his focus would be on improving staffing ratios to make sure nurses and midwives could perform their roles safely and effectively.
“It’s so bad at the moment, so that has to be a laser-like focus for me,” Mr Park said at the meeting.
“I don’t want to be dicking people around about this.”
The phrase infuriated Ms Ward, who said it is disappointing to hear the language.
“I think that phrase is entirely inappropriate form someone who is holding himself out to be the next NSW health minister,” she said on Friday.
“I call on him to apologise to those nurses and midwives. Clearly he has no idea what he is doing.”
Labor leader Chris Minns said he hadn’t heard Mr Park use the words, but said his “deeply empathetic and focused” colleague was trying to make a point.
“He’s one of the most down-to-earth politicians I’ve ever met. If he’s misspoken on an open mic, I think most people would give him a mulligan on that,” he said.
Mr Park has been contacted for comment.
Meanwhile, Mr Perrottet was in the Opposition Leader’s seat of Kogarah on Friday to announce an election integrity website for NSW, which would monitor political promises made in the lead-up to polling day.
The public website would give seat-by-seat updates on promised projects, with twice-yearly updates, and deliver an annual report on the progress of those election commitments.
NSW Labor spent time in the north-west Sydney electorate of Seven Hills on Friday morning to announce $25 million for a new hydrogen-focused training centre to prepare 4000 workers over two years for the fledgling industry.
