The win by Labor, as already conceded by former NSW PremierDom Perrottet before all votes are counted, now leaves Tasmania as the sole state and Territory held by a Liberal government. This is a transcript of the interview.
JAYNE AZZOPARDI
Welcome back to Weekend Today. New South Wales has decided Labor leader Chris Minns is the next Premier, defeating the Coalition in an election thrashing overnight. Let’s bring in today’s talkers, Nationals leader, David Littleproud and 2GB radio host Clinton Maynard. Good morning to you both. David, this was supposed to be close, but the election was called in just a few hours. Are you surprised the swing was this big and how do you now feel about the entire mainland now being painted Labor red?
DAVID LITTLEPROUD
Yeah, well, it’s the people’s choice and they’ve made their choice. You’ve got to respect that. You’ve got to learn, you’ve got to listen, you’ve got to understand and you’ve got to rebuild trust. And, you know, I think one of the things we should take out of this election was the tone in which it was held, I think it just sets the standard that politics can be better than what it currently is at the moment. If you heard the speeches from Dom Perrottet and Chris Minns, they were respectful. They had different ideas, and I think it became a time factor for Dom Perrottet and I think people were just ready for a change. We’re proud in The Nationals, we’re going to look like we’re going to hold onto all our seats, when the tide goes out and you’re able to do that.
I think this is a testament to The Nationals team here in New South Wales that they’re going to be able to do that. But, you know, I think it was time. I think, after 12 years of a government, people get tired of it and they’re looking for something new. And Chris Minns was able to articulate a vision, and a safe set of hands because of the respectful tone in which he undertook not just the election campaign, you got to say from the time he became Opposition leader.
JAYNE AZZOPARDI
All right. Clinton, you followed this election really closely, what does it mean for New South Wales? What is actually going to change and what sort of promises is Labor going to have to deliver on?
CLINTON MAYNARD
That’ll be a concern for New South Wales, that Labor actually didn’t promise a lot. It was a small target strategy, and maybe in the end that’s why they won. I think the critical thing for people in New South Wales, particularly people who work for the public service, teachers, nurses, police officers, will their pay rise be bigger than what was planned under the Coalition. Now Chris Minns says the pay cap is gone, and he was cheered last night, at the Labor function. I was there and that was the big-ticket policy. But he’s yet to actually point out what the size of the pay rise will be, and there is nothing in the budget that actually will finance that pay rise. So, in a way, winning the election was the easy part, now comes the hard work.
They’re going to be in for a shock. Now. They’ve been complaining about tolls, for instance. They will now get to see the contracts between the motorway operators and the government, and they’ll find out that they can’t get rid of tolls without huge compensation to transfer in the company that owns most of the toll roads.
JAYNE AZZOPARDI
All right. One to watch. Before we go, I need to get both of your thoughts on this. We know everybody loves a democracy sausage, but some voters were having to fork out 16 bucks for one yesterday. Clinton, you probably visited a few booths. How much did you pay?
CLINTON MAYNARD
$7.50 Jane. $7.50. But I should point out, that was at the Carlton South Public School where Chris Minns voted. That included egg, sausage, onion, and bacon. And the money went to the PNC.
JAYNE AZZOPARDI
David, how about you? What’s your limit?
DAVID LITTLEPROUD
Yeah, look, let’s get back to what a democracy sausage is. It’s a piece of bread, a sausage, and just some tomato sauce. And if you want to go fancy a little bit of onion, let’s get back to some basics here. I don’t know what’s happening. We don’t go too fancy in Queensland, we don’t do that sort of stuff. I mean, no one can afford that.
JAYNE AZZOPARDI
And no one wants to be caught eating one on camera. Let’s face it.
Alright, I want to move on to some other news now, because it’s been revealed that more and more women are now hiring private investigators to look into what skeletons there may be in the closet of the men that they’re dating online. David, they’re checking for serious things. Is he a con man, a domestic abuser, a sexual deviant? This is a sad sign of the times.
DAVID LITTLEPROUD
It is. And it just goes to show how technology has just infiltrated our lives and the modern life where previously, I don’t want to say it, in the good old days, you’d find someone through your social settings and your friends and you’d have that understanding of their background, where they come from, what they do. Now, the world has just become so isolated in many ways and just looking at their device, we’ve cut ourselves off from the rest of the world, and then we have to rely on other mechanisms to protect ourselves. So it’s a sad, I think, development in society, but, women should feel safe.
I think these dating apps also, you know, they’ve done some work in making sure that women can feel safer with these things. But it is a sad indictment of society. And I just think maybe we need to spend less time on the devices and more time at the local pub and in local community groups get to know one another.
JAYNE AZZOPARDI
Yeah. Clinton, digital intelligence reports can cost more than 400 bucks. Is that something that women should be doing themselves or do the dating apps need to take more responsibility?
CLINTON MAYNARD
The dating apps won’t. We know these IT companies will run a mile from any responsibility. I actually agree with David. It’s time to put Tinder back in your pocket. Now, in saying that, I did meet my wife on the internet many, many years ago when it wasn’t fashionable. You couldn’t actually admit to it. But you can now. Let’s get back to joining your local tennis club and actually meeting people and getting to know people once again instead of just swapping, left or is it right?
JAYNE AZZOPARDI
I’m not sure. I mean, but that’s easy to say when you’re all loved up. It’s hard being a single person these days.
CLINTON MAYNARD
Well, you can go to nightclubs and pubs as David suggests, but there are so many other places you can meet people. It doesn’t have to be on your phone.
JAYNE AZZOPARDI
Alright, maybe you can meet someone over a democracy sausage or two the next time there’s an election. Thank you both for your time this morning.