The NSW premier is resisting calls for the urgent introduction of pill testing for this festival season, saying there's "no safe quantity" of illegal drugs.

A coalition of drug experts, lawyers and doctors have penned an open letter to Chris Minns, urging him to set up a pilot drug-checking program for this summer's music festivals.

Among the signatories is Professor Dan Howard, who conducted a special commission of inquiry into the drug "ice", and handed down 109 recommendations back in 2020.

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A recommendation to introduce pill testing was rejected outright by the then-Berejiklian Government.

The measure was also recommended by a 2019 Coronial Inquest into Festival Deaths

"My special commission of inquiry heard a great deal of evidence and concluded that there is a strong and compelling evidence base to support drug checking as an effective harm reduction measure," Howard said.

Extreme hot weather forecast for the summer is fuelling for this festival season.

Unharm CEO Will Tregoning says the delay could put lives "at risk".

"A summer festival season with scorching temperatures, and no way for people to test their drugs is a recipe for disaster," Tregoning said.

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But the premier has dismissed the calls, saying "I know they want me to change our policy today, but I'm not going to do that".

"The pill testing regime is only in place in one jurisdiction in the country and that's the ACT. No other state has adopted similar changes to policy," Minns said.

"The truth is, there's no safe quantity to take of these illegal substances."

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Minns also said he couldn't be clear that "compromised drugs" are the reason for deaths at festivals.

"It might be over-consumption of that substance, rather than it being a dangerous element that's been added to the drug," he said.

"I don't want to be in a situation where people believe because there's the absence of compromised drugs, that they're safe to take when they're not."

Five new high schools are being promised across Western Sydney as part of a $3.5 billion education infrastructure spend included in the Minns government's first budget.

Premier Chris Minns on Monday released a list of 15 schools to be built in the region over the next four years, in a bid to address a backlog of projects for booming suburbs.

"We need desperately for education infrastructure to keep pace with the growing population," Minns said.

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Education Minister Prue Car said the wait "is finally over" for communities where schools were promised by the former Coalition government, but not delivered.

"Our commitment for all these new primary and high schools is that they will be open by 2027," Car said.

The full list of 15 schools to be funded in the state budget:

• A new primary school near Sydney Olympic Park
• A new high school for Wentworth Point
• A new high school for Melrose Park
• A new primary school for Gables
• A new primary school for Melonba
• A new high school for Melonba
• A new primary school for Nirimba Fields
• A new primary school for Tallawong
• A new high school for Schofields and Tallawong
• A new high school for Jordan Springs
• A new primary school for Gregory Hills
• A new high school for Gledswood Hills and Gregory Hills
• A new high school for Leppington and Denham Court
• A new high school for Edmondson Park
• A new primary school for Liverpool (Gulyangarri Public School)

Upgrades will also be delivered to schools in Austral, Cecil Hills, Condell Park, Dundas, Eagle Vale, Kingswood, Leppington, Northmead and The Ponds.

Sites for all new schools are yet to be identified, but Car said the government would keep communication lines open.

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The list includes nine schools that had been allocated funding by the former Coalition government.

Opposition Leader Mark Speakman said Labor was "claiming credit" for the Coalition's work.

"$3 billion of the $3.5 billion was already in the pipeline under the Liberals and Nationals," Speakman said.

Two of the schools on the list – Gulyangarri Public School and Wentworth Point High School – are already under construction.

The Minns government has ordered an enrolment growth audit, designed to help plan for local public schools in expanding areas.

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Annastacia Palaszczuk has revealed she was rushed to hospital after suffering a medical episode during the Labor Party state conference earlier this year.

On her first day back following a two-week overseas holiday that was dominated by speculation about her future as Queensland premier, Palaszczuk fronted a press conference on Monday afternoon when she revealed she spent several hours in emergency care at Mackay Hospital in June.

"I shared with cabinet this morning that during the state conference, I had a medical episode," Palaszczuk told reporters.

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"I was rushed to emergency, I spent about five or six hours in Mackay Hospital.

"I want to thank the staff, they looked after me – the care was first-rate.

"I'm very confident that's the way they look after other people that present to the hospitals as well."

Palaszczuk didn't divulge exactly what the medical issue was, but said she had gone through a number of tests afterwards which had cleared her.

The premier spent much of the marathon 35-minute press conference batting away questions about her position leading into next year's election.

She said "not one person" had raised concerns about her leadership, and that she intended to remain at the helm for next October's poll.

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"I believe I'm the best person because I believe that we have the plans, the policy plans, for this state," she said.

"Queensland's best days are ahead of us, I'm even more convinced about that."

However, with polls showing support for Labor is sliding, and a number of cabinet members forced to insist they have no ambitions of taking over as premier, Palaszczuk admitted she needed to improve.

"As the leader of the government, I can always do things better," she said.

"And I need to communicate more to the people of the state, and I need to communicate more to the people of the party."

Palaszczuk defended her decision to take a break, saying it was the last viable time to take leave before the upcoming bushfire season.

She also hit out at paparazzi who tracked her and her partner down at an Italian hotel in what she called an "invasion of privacy".

The radio host was stabbed repeatedly after having his car rammed.