Former NSW transport minister Andrew Constance,who oversaw a host of mega projects,said cost-of-living pressures were by far the biggest issue on voters’ minds in Parramatta,which had a large proportion of renters who were more exposed to higher living costs.
“Cost of living was the number one issue that drove people with their vote. People are scared right now after 10 interest rate rises and food prices have gone up astronomically,” he said.
Speaking on Nine’s election night TV panel on Saturday,former premier Mike Baird said Parramatta had become the Paris of western Sydney,given the projects that were transforming the city.
Despite multibillion-dollar infrastructure spending,internal Liberal polling in the lead-up to the election had been showing that Parramatta would be difficult to retain because of the surge in renters,according to a senior Perrottet government source.
Constance said mega projects,which took years to build,did not translate into votes at the ballot box,and the Coalition government’s focus had been on the long term when it committed to them.
Labor repeatedly targeted thecost of tolls during the election campaign,and Constance said motorway charges flowed through into voters’ concerns about cost of living despite a toll subsidy scheme for frequent users.