The NSW premier has denied his party is in disarray weeks out from the election despite one MP being cut from its ticket and a senior member quitting his ministry as a poll shows Western Sydney voters are fed up with Coalition policies.
In the urban heartland seats of Parramatta, Penrith and East Hills, residents view stagnating wages for essential workers and rising electricity bills as by-products of misguided government policies.
The Unions NSW-commissioned poll conducted by UComm and released on Sunday found almost 73 per cent of residents in Penrith, 76.5 per cent in Parramatta and 75.6 in East Hills said pegging pay to less than the half inflation rate left them “a lot” or “somewhat” concerned for the quality of public services in NSW.
The latest poll comes as the Liberal Party on Saturday effectively disendorsed upper-house MP Peter Poulos after it was revealed he emailed explicit images of a female rival five years ago.
Premier Dominic Perrottet called for his party to act following the scandal after previously appearing to defend Mr Poulos.
The party’s state director suspended Mr Poulos for six months, excluding him from the Liberals’ upper-house ticket for the March poll.
“While Mr Poulos has apologised for his actions to the person concerned and to the community, his conduct fell short of the standard of behaviour expected of members of our party,” the party said in a statement.
The explicit images, from a 1980s Penthouse shoot, were shared in the context of a preselection battle at the time.
Asked on Saturday if the Liberal Party was in disarray six weeks out from the state election, both Mr Perrottet and Treasurer Matt Kean insisted the party remained focused on delivering for families.
On Friday, the government was caught up in a second scandal when Damien Tudehope resigned as finance minister after declaring he owned shares in toll road owner Transurban.
The company operates most of Sydney’s toll roads and the city’s tolling regime is one of several key election flashpoints.
The premier accepted Mr Tudehope’s resignation, adding the minister had been cleared of wrongdoing by lawyers from the Department of Premier and Cabinet.
Labor experienced its own election stumble during the week, when star election candidate Terry Campese withdrew from the race for the seat of Monaro after a series of reports about his behaviour.
The two major parties’ election hiccups come as both attempt to focus attention on their signature policies to speed up the state’s clean energy transition.
Labor on Sunday unveiled plans for a new, $1 billion publicly-owned corporation that will help to “keep the lights on” as the state makes the energy shift, while the government has trumpeted its $1.5 billion Clean Energy Superpower Fund.
