New South Wales Opposition Leader Kellie Sloane has outlined the Coalition’s election platform in her budget reply speech, promising payroll tax cuts for small businesses, a new metro line for south-west Sydney and a series of housing and energy reforms.
Opening her address with lyrics from Eminem’s 2002 hit Lose Yourself, Sloane accused the Minns Labor Government of wasting its opportunity after more than a decade in opposition.
“If you had one shot or one opportunity to seize everything you ever wanted in one moment. Would you capture it? Or just let it slip?” Ms Sloane said.
A key pledge was to reduce payroll tax by lifting the tax-free threshold from $1.2 million to $1.5 million, a move the Coalition says would exempt around 4,000 businesses from paying the tax. Businesses with an Australian payroll below $10 million would also see the payroll tax rate cut from 5.45 per cent to 4.75 per cent, with future thresholds indexed to inflation.
“The Liberals and Nationals in government raised the payroll tax threshold five times saving thousands of businesses from the burden of payroll tax,” Ms Sloane said.
“Since the Minns Labor government was elected, the payroll tax threshold has not been lifted once. It’s been a stealth tax on jobs.”
Sloane also pledged to negotiate a new agreement with the Commonwealth to fund major infrastructure projects, including extending Sydney’s metro network into the south-west.
The Coalition would establish renewable energy zones in Sydney, Newcastle, Wollongong and the state’s far west while revising plans for the New England Renewable Energy Zone, which has drawn criticism from some farming communities.
Housing measures include freezing developer contributions on new homes until mid-2029 and relocating Long Bay Correctional Complex to Goulburn to free up land for around 12,000 new homes.
Sloane also repeated her promise of a $100 vehicle registration rebate, claiming Labor had adopted the Coalition’s proposal in Tuesday’s state budget.
“We’re glad the government borrowed our idea and put it in their budget, too,” she said.
The speech comes less than nine months before the March 2027 NSW election and follows a recent opinion poll showing the Coalition trailing both Labor and One Nation on primary vote.
Source: ABC News
