The election battleground of Western Sydney will be the site of a key debate between Premier Dominic Perrottet and Opposition leader Chris Minns as NSW prepares to vote.
With latest polls tipping a Labor victory on March 25, the leaders will square off on Thursday at Rosehill Racecourse to debate important issues in Sydney’s west.
Winning the support of the region, home to more than a quarter of the state’s population, will be critical to the success of both parties on polling day, amid cost of living pressures and housing affordability concerns.
The event includes a panel discussion with representatives of Western Sydney University, Westpac, global accounting firm PwC and media.
It comes as a poll found the cost of living, including food, utilities and housing is the top concern of 50 per cent of voters.
The survey, conducted by Resolve Strategic and published in The Sydney Morning Herald on Thursday, found most voters did not want new infrastructure funded through privatisation.
Just 10 per cent of those surveyed want public assets sold to pay for roads and rail, with 40 per cent say infrastructure projects should be financed by cuts to other services, while 14 per cent thought debt was preferable.
The poll of 803 eligible voters found Labor’s primary vote had lifted one percentage point to 38 per cent, while the Coalition’s had dropped two points to 32 per cent.
With 93 seats up for grabs, the data points to an overall swing of seven per cent to Labor — enough to deliver the 47 seats required to form a majority government.
But Mr Perrottet remains the preferred premier at 38 per cent to Mr Minns on 34 per cent.
Some 76 per cent of voters polled said they were committed to who they planned to vote for, while 24 per cent remained uncertain.
“Polling’s going to come and go, this election will come down to the wire, it’s absolutely going to be a nail-biter,” Mr Minns said on Tuesday.
On housing, Labor has announced it will end no-fault evictions and secret rent bidding, introduce a portable bond scheme and force landlords to give a reason for rejecting a tenant’s pet application.
The coalition has committed to a federal scheme that will see an extra 10,000 affordable houses built in NSW.
-AAP
