Party Primer: A Beginner’s Guide To The NSW State Election

I, like many of my fellow New South Welshmen, know little to nothing about the state government. I’m not proud of it, but in past state elections I’ve always just voted based on who I would vote for in the federal election.

This is because I never properly understood the difference between state and federal governments. People make a BIG DEAL about everything the federal government does (eating onions; stopping boats), and largely ignore the states as they bandy about building up roads, knocking down schools and delaying our trains presumably as some kind of Pavlovian experiment to teach us the value of petroleum-based transportation.

But state governments are responsible for the basic infrastructure that keeps our society running. I’m talking schools, hospitals, community services, public transport, roads, farming, police, prisons and emergency services. Everything we complain about to each other on a regular basis? They’re to blame. They’re also in charge of power, gas, water and sewerage.

If you’ve ever played Cities: Skyline, you’ll understand how vital it is to get this stuff right.

Does the state government answer to the federal government?

Yes, and no. State governments have near full control over almost all publicly run facilities, with the exception of those facilities considered in the national interest, such as finance, defence, broadcasting and telecommunications, airports and detention centres. This means the federal government can only wield its authority over the state government through Jedi mind tricks and the universal language of commerce (well, mostly).

You see, in this country, you gotta make the money first. Then when you get the money, you get the power. Then when you get the power, you have to distribute that money to the public sector in a fiscally responsible way so you aren’t crucified by the public for abusing said power.

How do I know who to vote for?

Probably the best way to start it is to start local — look at who is representing your best interests in your seat, have a chat with people in your community, talk to friends and family about the issues that concern you, and then have a read of some of the information available to you online. There are also great tools available to you, like ABC’s VoteCompass, to help you figure out your own political alignment.

But if, like me, you’re horribly lazy, left it until the last minute and just have no idea what you are doing, I’ve compiled a summary below of the key players you will need to know about before Saturday’s election.

Warning: If you’re planning on using this as your only source of information this election, DON’T DO THAT! Also check out the Vote Compass, the ABC’s handy policy breakdown, or the Vote NSW website.

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PLAYER STATS: THE MAJORS

The Liberals/Nationals

Represented by: Mike Baird

Official policy outline: Here.

What you are voting for: 

You will be voting for privatisation, hospitals and roads, roads, roads. The Baird Government is running their campaign on three big ticket items. They plan to invest $5 billion dollars into hospitals, redeveloping a few key Sydney hospitals and building a new one in Rouse Hill.

They’re also investing a whopping $20 billion into our roads and rail network, adding a new train line across Sydney Harbour, and expanding regional infrastructure.

Where are they getting all this money? Good question. They plan to lease out our state run power network companies Transgrid, Ausgrid and Endeavour Energy to international investors. This is causing a lot of controversy, as it’s a key publicly funded resource and might cause a jump in energy prices — although this claim has been denied by Baird.

Be careful because:

Policies low on the Baird government’s agenda include education, affordable housing and the environment. The Libs are big on privatisation and small on investment in the public sector – so if you ride your bicycle from your public school or library to your rented studio apartment in a bid to limit your carbon footprint, this is probably not the party for you. But let’s be real, you already knew that.

In a GIF:

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The Australian Labor Party

Represented by: Luke Foley

Official policy outline: Here.

What you are voting for:

The Labor Party wants to save TAFE, match the Coalition’s health reform, and expand the regional rail network. Luke Foley is adamantly against the leasing of public enterprise, and therefore has a more fiscally modest approach in his policies, planning a $10 billion investment in public transport, and a less flashy hospital redevelopment plan.

That being said, what they lack in finance they have injected into more inventive policies, including the development of four nurse-run medical facilities to ease pressure off emergency rooms; the promise to enshrine nurse-to-patient ratios in law (one nurse to every three patients in emergency departments and paediatric clinics); the trial of specialised domestic violence courts and an expansion of counselling services for victims; and a HECS-like scheme for first home buyers, allowing stamp duty to be paid monthly over five years, interest free.

Be careful because:

Baird has criticised Foley’s policies, especially the rail network expansion, asking where the money is coming from — a fair question indeed. Labor wants to put a hold on road infrastructure, and cancel development plans for a new line across Sydney Harbour, instead investing in a rail line to the proposed Airport in Badgery’s Creek. Labor’s education policies are a bit lacklustre too, investing little policy into the public school system beyond TAFE.

In a GIF:

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The Greens

Represented by: Dr John Kaye

Official policy outline: Here.

What you are voting for:

Public transport, public education and ethical planning of infrastructure. The Greens are one of the only parties to put funding of public education at the top of their agenda, pledging to redirect the funds allocated by the Coalition into vocational training outside TAFE back into the public education; or, in their words, restoring “funding justice to education“.

They also plan to redirect funding to private toll roads into the public transport system, allocating $4.5 billion to what they call “public transport solutions”.

And of course, being the Greens, they want to invest more into environmental protections, pledging to protect and expand national parks and services while encouraging “ecologically sustainable development principles”.

Be careful because: 

The Greens may not have a chance to take the majority this election but the influence they wield in Parliament as compared to the minor parties should not be underestimated. They are unshakeable in their resolve to stop coal seam gas exploration, and they hope to prevent further planning of road and infrastructure development without first considering the environmental impact and ethics behind these developments. This means that a Greens heavy government will likely cause delays on the implementation of certain policies, which could be a good thing or a bad thing depending on your perspective/how much you want more roads. 

In a GIF:

The good news is that all three major parties agree medical marijuana is potentially worth legislating, which might make the next election a much more chill process.

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PLAYER STATS: THE MINORS

Currently Holding Seats

Christian Democratic Party (Fred Nile Group)

One of the biggest minor parties in the game, these guys claim to stand for Christian values and tougher laws on criminals, and are adamantly against gay marriage. They have also recently come out against Coal Seam Gas mining for fear of its impact on agricultural lands. They hope to bring Christian agendas and values into parliament.

Be careful because:

Fred Nile, current leader of the NSW State CDP, is notorious for his ultra-conservative stance on almost everything. He is pro-life, anti-homosexuality and pro-censorship laws. The CDP are currently running on a campaign to bring about a tougher legal system on both major and minor crimes. The implications of such policies could be huge, and could be especially detrimental to already established rehabilitation programs, such as the Kings Cross injection rooms.

In a GIF:

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Country Labor Party

Essentially the Labor Party, but in the country — with interests in rural and farming communities in NSW, and the preservation of its historic past.

Be careful because:

Actually, I still don’t quite understand what policies they are running on. Everything just redirects back into the Labor party, so I assume this party is just the Labor party in a clever and mysterious disguise…

In a GIF:

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Shooters and Fishers Party

The libertarian grandpa of the NSW elections, these guys use the word ‘freedom’ a LOT. They also run on a very positive campaign. They are pro-guns, pro-environmental sustainability and pro-freedom.

Be careful because:

These guys claim to be for environmental sustainability, while at the same time they hope to ‘unlock’ protected natural resources and expand hunting and fishing regions.They also want to repeal the 1996 National Firearms Agreement introduced after the Port Arthur Massacre by the Howard Government. While they claim the National Firearms Act has done nothing to change the homicide and suicide rates in this country, by citing one 2008 study, there are many other studies to contradict this claim. Here’s one. Here’s another. And here’s a nice book about it.

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Not Currently Holding Seats

Animal Justice Party: Standing up for the rights of puppies, kittens and other animals that aren’t quite cute enough for memes, the AJP want to abolish intensive factory farming, cease hunting in national parks, and put an end to puppy mill practices.

Australian Cyclists Party: Representing major cycling issues like chaffing and electrolytes, but also minor ones such as the implementation of new road safety rules and the creation of targets set to encourage cycling in urban areas.

Australian Democrats (NSW Division): These guys have a serious social conscience, their policies targeting education reform, housing affordability, sustainability and youth unemployment. They also have a poorly formatted website, so I can’t really tell you much more.

Australian Motorist Party: If you like cars, roads and don’t even know what a carbon footprint is, you’re going to love this party. To be fair, though, they do position road safety at the top of their agenda, campaigning to lower the road toll and decrease its financial ($27 billion) and social cost, which is something no other party has announced policy on.

Building Australia Party: Sustainability is the policy du jour in this election, and the BAP are no exception, campaigning for sustainable development while cutting through ‘unnecessary’ red tape. This seems like an inherent contradiction, because it is: without bureaucratic accountability, building companies can do whatever they want, sustainability be damned.

No Land Tax Campaign: These guys don’t want to be taxed on their investment properties. So if you’re a wealthy investor with no cash to spare, this is the party for you!

No Parking Meters Party: This party used to be self explanatory, but now they also rally against tolls and pokies taxes. It’s perhaps no surprise that they hail from the Eastern Suburbs, then.

Outdoor Recreation Party: Very similar to Shooters and Fishers, this party wants you to be able to do whatever the heck you want wherever you want to do it, laws be damned. They are your irresponsible older brother who lets you drink alcohol and ride on his motorbike while your parents are out.

Socialist Alliance: The group who would like control of the state so they may smash the capitalist system altogether.

The Fishing Party: There isn’t much about this party online beyond the fact that they exist. I suspect their policies involve fish, but I could be wrong.

Unity Party: The Unity Party was founded to counteract the xenophobic anti-immigration policies of Pauline Hanson’s One Nation party. They are now more locally focussed, but there is very little updated information about their policies available online.

Voluntary Euthanasia Party: They want to legislate voluntary assisted dying and improve palliative care (care in situations where treatment isn’t possible). I’m not entirely sure where I stand on this issue, but I’m impressed by the straight forward approach this party has taken in their campaign — if only for saving me quality research time that I can now spend with my night cheese.

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Educate yourself a little further on what policies you’re actually voting for by going here, here, or here. 

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Kara Eva Schlegl is a freelance writer who hosts ‘News in Brief’ on Fbi Radio’s Backchat, Ghost Stories at Giant Dwarf, the Stop the Posts podcast and her own blog Kara Nation. She tweets from @kara_nation.