With the State Election just a week away, I thought I’d put together a little A-Z guide of the campaign so far.
A is for Ayres. His rise through the political ranks needs to be recognised – a solid local member who is now Police and Sports Minister.
B is for big promises. There’s been quite a few in this region during the campaign, and that means we’ll get to watch very carefully over the next four years to ensure promises are delivered.
C is for Carney. Seriously, how unlucky is the bloke given his namesake’s poor reputation in rugby league and the wider sporting world.
D is for Duncan Gay. Made one of the bigger announcements during the campaign with the Mulgoa Road upgrade commitment.
E is for Emma Husar. She’s made a solid impact in her first political campaign. If Stuart Ayres does win as expected next weekend, Labor needs a permanent opposition spokesperson in the seat of Penrith and perhaps Ms Husar is the right option.
F is Foley. I think it’s been a reasonable campaign from the new Opposition Leader. He won’t win Government, but Labor needs to give him a full four years in Opposition.
G is for graffiti artists. They’ve certainly been plying their trade when it comes to damaging political signage around the place.
H is for Homebush. No, the Panthers aren’t moving there.
I is for idiots. Both parties have supporters who fall into this category – most of them seem to like social media.
J is for Jackie Kelly. A strange campaign full of questionable promises and distractions that completely fell apart when she suggested there was a Liberal plan to move Penrith Panthers matches to Homebush.
K is for kissing babies. There hasn’t been enough of this age-old tradition in this campaign. I’m outraged!
L is for lead pencils. They’ll be in school halls around the country next weekend.
M is for March 28. It’ll all be over then.
N is for non-answers. Politicians have mastered it at press conferences and in media releases. Seriously, just answer the question.
O is for Opal Card. The State Government is thanking its lucky stars it hasn’t been a disaster as it would have dominated the chatter during the campaign.
P is for privatisation. It’s been the big talking point of this campaign and I think the public is legitimately confused and divided, particularly given the various advertising campaigns that are running, some of them just pure scare tactics.
Q is for questions. There’s usually more of them than answers.
R is for radioactive waste. Hasn’t been the talking point it probably should have been during the Mulgoa campaign.
S is for sausage sizzles. The best part about polling day next Saturday.
T is for train stations. Don’t worry, the pollies won’t block your morning commute with offers of a flyer and a chat after March 28.
U is for underdog. In the local sense, that sums up Emma Husar, Todd Carney and Bernard Bratusa who all have a pretty big fight on their hands. The latter is probably in the closest battle of all in Londonderry.
V is for victory party. Mike Baird’s should kick off around 8.30pm next Saturday.
W is for worn out. Given how much the candidates door knock, their shoes are pretty much ready for the scrapheap.
X is for the X Factor. Mike Baird has it – ladies love him, hell even I’ve got a little man crush on the bloke.
Y is for your vote. It’s what the whole campaign is all about.
Z is for zoo. Because that’s what it can feel like during the campaign.