Kellie Sloane
Leader of the Opposition
NSW Liberal Leader
Thank you, Chair, fellow Liberals, friends, Angus Taylor, Party President Peter Collins, and State Director Mark Neeham.
Especially my colleagues, a hardworking and talented team, who in 6 months’ time I want to see in Government, rebuilding our great state; returning it from the bottom of the pile to the top once more.
NSW is on the decline under a terrible Labor Government.
A Government that is robbing us of prosperity, safety, and hope.
Today, I want to talk about the tough decisions my team and I will make.
Our priorities in the core areas of community safety and economic growth – two key pillars we will be fighting on in the next election.
It’s just part of the story I’ll share with you in the lead up to March next year.
I want to begin with something that occurred a year ago this week, at a motel on Alice Street in Moree.
It was a Sunday, just before 1am, when a group of boys – some as young as 11 – allegedly forced their way into Mick Cikota’s motel.
Many of you will remember his story. Mick woke to the noise of them breaking in.
He rushed into his 86-year-old mother-in-law’s bedroom where one of the accused was holding a knife over her.
Mick wrestled with the offender to protect her.
He was stabbed multiple times, bleeding profusely.
He thought his life was over.
It was a brazen, terrifying crime.
I spoke with Mick just yesterday, he’s a lovely man. And showed enormous courage in those moments.
But he still lives with what happened to him – he’s still shaken up.
Not the same person he was before – mentally or physically.
It never should have happened.
You should be able to go to bed at night without fear.
You should be able to feel safe in our state.
The teenager that allegedly stabbed Mick was later bailed and went on to be charged with aggravated assault for a separate offence.
Mick’s story is one that shows the changing face of crime in our state, and the people of NSW know this.
They see it on their TVs every night.
They see it in their communities.
They are tired of seeing the same serious youth offenders get off with a slap on the wrist and go on to commit more crimes.
A 20 per cent increase in youth offenders committing assaults under Labor.
A 13 per cent increase in youth offenders breaching bail.
Drug offences are also on the rise.
The people of NSW are sick of the drug dealers and organised crime gangs, peddling their poison and committing violence with utter disregard for innocent lives.
200 gangland shootings since Labor came to power.
52 this year alone.
A granddad kidnapped from his home at night and allegedly murdered.
An innocent 23-year-old shot in his bed while he slept.
An innocent man gunned down in a driveway in front of children.
Kids as young as 14 allegedly participating in gangland murders.
When asked in Question Time about the 52 gangland shootings this year, the Police Minister was arrogantly dismissive.
She called them “petty minutia questions”.
This is the same Police Minister who also has said crime in NSW is not out of control.
Well, it is.
Enough is enough.
It is why a Liberal Government I lead will put victims and community safety first.
We are, and we will continue to be, tough on crime.
We will provide the clear-eyed leadership on law and order our state deserves.
This is in stark contrast to Labor, who are weak on crime.
Who are sending mixed messages to the community on illegal drugs in NSW making pill testing legal at a time when drug dealing offences and organised crime shootings are rising in NSW.
Let me be clear – there is no safe way to take illegal drugs.
A Liberal Government I lead will not be acting as the official quality control for the drug cartels.
Today, we have unveiled our plan for safer streets and stronger communities in NSW.
We will back the police.
Target the criminals.
Toughen the punishment.
Take back control.
While Chris Minns and Labor have pledged millions to join Albanese’s half-baked gun buyback – The Liberals will be focused on taking guns out of the hands of terrorists and organised crime gangs – instead of directing much needed police resources to taking guns away from law-abiding farmers who are trying to put food on our plates.
Today, along with Shadow Police Minister Anthony Roberts, and our Liberal Candidate for Camden former Deputy Police Commissioner Mick Willing – I have announced a comprehensive plan to boost police resourcing – where it will make a difference.
Starting with increased funding for the firearms registry to improve its technology – intelligence capacity – and ability to identify emerging risks.
If someone has been red flagged by ASIO, they should not have access to guns.
Our systems, state and federal, must talk.
We will increase the maximum penalty for trafficking firearms or ammunition from 20 years’ imprisonment to life imprisonment, with a standard non-parole period.
Anyone found carrying an illegal gun on our streets will face mandatory time in jail, under tough new sentencing laws.
This adds to our previous announcements.
We will strengthen NSW Firearms Prohibition Orders, to give police an even more effective tool to disrupt organised crime.
We will smash organised criminal gangs with tough new laws and confiscate their unexplained wealth.
We’ll target the violence brokers who are recruiting the kids.
We will double funding for the NSW Crime Commission.
I also announced today that a NSW Liberals Government will establish a Commission of Inquiry to review and improve Labor’s rushed gun laws and recommend strong firearms reforms targeting terrorists, criminals and illegal guns.
Albo’s unpopular gun buyback, signed up to by one state premier, Chris Minns, will cost hundreds of millions of dollars, taking guns away from farmers and professional sporting shooters.
Country cops will be taken away from community policing duties to manage this buyback.
In Budget Estimates the Police Minister couldn’t say how this will work or how much it will cost.
And she refused to say how the Bondi Shooters were given their gun licences.
Minister – let me tell you this – it was not farmers who walked into a Jewish celebration at Bondi last year and killed 15 members of my community.
It is not farmers out there shooting up the streets of southwestern and western Sydney.
We must be upfront about the real enemies – gangland criminals, violent extremists, people acting in the name of Islamic terrorist organisations.
Does anyone really think terrorists or the Coconut Cartel are going to turn up to a cop shop and hand over their weapons?
We need to get the guns off dangerous people.
That is my focus.
While the commission of inquiry does its work, we will scrap the unworkable caps for farmers and professional sporting shooters who have a genuine need.
We will have tough gun laws, but they will be fair – and targeted. That’s how we keep people safe.
Following the Commission of Inquiry, any buyback will be better targeted, provide fair compensation and allow associated ammunition and accessories to be surrendered in the same transaction.
So, what about the kids.
We heard last week about one teenager who was caught – but let off by magistrates 94 times!
That is not doing the offender any favours.
It is certainly not supporting our communities.
I believe in tough love.
In the first 100 days of a Liberals and Nationals Government, we will introduce Adult Crime, Adult time laws.
If you commit an adult crime, you will be punished like an adult.
Now – we don’t want 14-year-olds going to prison only to be released 10 years later as hardened criminals.
That’s not the objective here.
We will heavily invest in diversion schemes, as well as rehabilitation.
But that won’t fix the problem if there aren’t consequences, serious consequences.
It is the community’s expectation – and the Liberals and Nationals will always put the safety of communities first.
Friends, in six months the people of NSW will choose who they want to lead our state into the next decade.
They will have a choice between Labor’s higher taxes, crime crisis, and lack of vision or the NSW Liberals Plan for a Stronger NSW.
A NSW where families can get ahead and stay ahead.
Where we back small businesses to grow and create jobs, build for the future and make our streets safer.
In three and a half years, Labor has taken our economy from the fastest growing in the country to the bottom.
Our economy has flatlined.
State Final Demand is at zero per cent. Zero.
Labor has increased taxes 31 per cent and plans to increase taxes by a further 16 per cent.
They are doing this at the same time as we have seen families going backwards and record business insolvencies – 6,200 businesses went bust last year.
Labor is 40 per cent behind their housing targets and is killing construction companies with higher taxes and red tape.
We will get our economy moving again.
The NSW Liberals will cut payroll tax, giving our state the most competitive payroll tax regime of any state in the country.
We know businesses create the wealth and jobs our state relies on so we will back them with lower taxes.
We will remove red tape and interference.
If we want to get our economy growing again and creating new jobs for young Australians, we must back small and family business.
We have to help families with practical cost of living support, like $100 off their rego, $50 weekly toll cap and fuel price reliability by requiring retailers to transparently set maximum daily prices so drivers have certainty when they go to fill up.
My government will not just talk about building for the future in media releases, we will get the shovels in the ground and return the cranes to our skyline.
All of us remember the former Liberal Government’s ambition when it came to building our state’s future.
We remember the progress.
The new roads, hospitals, schools and metros.
A Liberal Government I lead will deliver a new Western Sydney City Deal, to continue building the infrastructure Western Sydney deserves.
The Metros have transformed our city, and we will keep building them, connecting more communities to fast, reliable rail.
It is not just in our cities, Labor have neglected regional NSW for three and a half years.
Roads have fallen into disrepair.
Communities have been ignored.
A Liberal Government I lead will turn this around with our Regional Infrastructure Guarantee.
It will ensure 25 per cent of infrastructure spending is invested into regional NSW.
That includes a record $5 billion into water infrastructure, to connect regional communities and allow population and jobs growth.
We will also restore the regional seniors travel card, so older Australians aren’t deciding between the basics or visiting the grandkids at the weekend.
Regional NSW deserves their fair share and that is what we will deliver.
If you want to see our full suite of policies announced so far – including returning community voice in planning, please jump on the NSW Liberal Party website.
In the coming months we will have more to say around health, housing, education, energy, and industry.
I thank our policy and professional branches of the Liberal Party for their valued and ongoing input into these policies.
There is only six months standing between us and victory.
175 days to leave nothing in the tank.
To be disciplined and focused.
We won’t listen to those who tell us it can’t be won.
We won’t be distracted by grievances and fringe issues.
This next six months will be about who the people of NSW trust to grow our economy, support families, crush the criminals and build for the future.
This will be the most unpredictable election our state has ever seen, but I know we can win in March.
Six seats are all we need to flip to win.
But our path to victory in March cannot be achieved alone.
My Liberal team and I need you to stand with us.
Put on the blue shirts.
Hit the pavement.
