Damien Tudehope
Shadow Treasurer
Two years ago, Anthony Albanese grabbed Chris Minns by the hand, parading him as his mate and welcoming him as the new NSW Premier. Fast forward to today, and Chris Minns and his ministers now avoid being seen with the Prime Minister, knowing full well their policies mirror Canberra's failures.
New South Wales is hurtling towards an economic dead end, shackled by the same small target policies and failed priorities that are crippling households under the Albanese Labor Government in Canberra. The similarities between the two governments have proven disastrous for families and businesses alike.
Under Labor, New South Wales is enduring its slowest economic growth in more than three decades. The state's economy is projected to expand by a pitiful 0.75 per cent this financial year, a dramatic downgrade from the already bleak 2 per cent forecast just six months ago. These numbers are not just statistics—they are the grim reality faced by families struggling to keep their heads above water amidst skyrocketing living costs, stagnating private sector wages, and soaring housing prices.
Shadow Treasurer Damien Tudehope said Labor's mismanagement has left New South Wales households exposed to economic pain, echoing the same failures unfolding under the Albanese Government.
"The Treasurer waited until days before Christmas to try and hide the dire truth about the state of our economy, hoping no one would notice. But let's be clear—there is no hiding from the facts. Labor has no plan to turn this state around, and the only spark they can find is in spin and excuses," Mr Tudehope said.
We have two Labor governments, federally and in New South Wales, united in failure. Both promised hope and delivered despair. Families are hurting, businesses are folding, and economic growth has stalled. Meanwhile, Labor's only response is to keep pretending there is nothing to see here.
Economists are painting a bleak picture of what lies ahead. Westpac warns that NSW's economic engine is "running low on fuel". Despite this, the Minns Labor Government continues to ignore the warning signs, just like their mates in Canberra, who have buried projections showing Australians face almost a decade of lost living standard.
In just 78 days, the Premier will stand up alongside his Treasurer and try to convince New South Wales that in two years, Labor has achieved something substantial. The reality? Small targets and ribbon-cutting ceremonies for infrastructure projects inherited from the Liberals and Nationals.
The Premier's Department is already scrambling to create Excel spreadsheets, spin documents, and talking points to dress up their failures as successes so they can issue a media release saying look at what we have achieved and separately create window dressing answers for the government for budget estimates next month. But the truth is clear—they have delivered little, while wages are blowing out, and there's no real infrastructure pipeline on the horizon.
We know that a fiscal cliff is coming as wage blowouts spiral out of control, yet this government has failed to deliver any new infrastructure projects of its own.
The Treasurer and his Labor colleagues want us to believe they have things under control, but the reality couldn't be more different. The Minns Labor is following the Albanese Labor Government down the same destructive path—and it's the people of New South Wales who are paying the price.
Housing affordability, cost-of-living pressures, and sluggish economic growth are set to plague New South Wales for years to come, mirroring the crisis facing Australians nationwide under the Albanese Government.
NSW is worse off under the Minns Labor Government.
