NSW Labor says there's no need to privatise any more NSW government assets to fund planned state infrastructure projects.
Opposition Leader Chris Minns is hitting back at government suggestions a Labor government won't be able to fund vital infrastructure projects while also scrapping the cap on public sector wages, without going further into debt.
The government says Treasury analysis shows if public sector wages rise in line with inflation, it will cost an additional $8.6 billion over four years, jeopardising plans to build more roads, hospitals and schools.
Mr Minns says Premier Dominic Perrottet is being "mischievous" about Labor's costings and accused him of portraying frontline workers "who got us through the COVID emergency as some kind of greedy bandits that need to be confronted by the NSW government".
"It's a deliberate strategy from a very ideological premier," he told Sydney radio 2GB on Tuesday.
Mr Minns has committed to scrap the three per cent government-imposed limit on public service wages, to address the state's chronic shortage of teachers, nurses and paramedics.
However, he says with inflation hitting 7.8 per cent, there is no prospect of CPI-level increases for frontline workers.
"It's not possible for us to meet those expectations," Mr Minns said.
"Any increase must be generated as a result of productivity gains and budget savings ... so the budget at the end of the day will not be worse off as a result."
The $120 billion worth of infrastructure projects outlined in the government's mid-year budget review over the next four years was already budgeted for - largely by debt - and Labor was also committed to the projects, he said.
"There was no call or requirement to sell off any infrastructure in NSW to meet that infrastructure pipeline," he said.
"So any sales that take place after the next election would be purely driven by ideology," he said.
"According to the government's own figures nothing needs to be sold off to meet that infrastructure deadline."
Mr Perrottet said on Monday he had no plans to privatise more assets but instead the government would use "a combination of affordable and sustainable debt position, asset recycling, lower taxes" to fund infrastructure.
