Tag Archives: oceania

Perrottet, Minns make final pitches as polls close

New South Wales Premier Dominic Perrottet and Opposition Leader Chris Minns have both cast their votes and the polls have now closed in the state election.

Perrottet cast his ballot fairly early in the day at Beecroft Primary School in his seat of Epping, where the premier enjoys a comfortable 11.3 per cent margin.

Minns' own seat is far, far tighter, with redistributions leaving the opposition leader heading into today's poll with just a 0.1 per cent margin in Kogarah.

RESULTS: Live seats won, party totals and swingometer

NSW premier Premier Dominic Perrottet along with his wife Helen Perrottet cast their votes

He voted early in the afternoon after a swing through some of Sydney's marginal seats.

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese did some last-minute campaigning for Labor in the seat of Ryde, where he delivered a swipe at the state Liberal government.

LIVE: Follow rolling coverage of the 2023 NSW state election

Chris Minns joins his wife Anna and children to cast their vote

"Dominic Perrottet and Chris Minns are both very good people. I like both of them," the PM said.

"I've worked closely with Dominic Perrottet, he's been constructive in his relationships as the New South Wales Premier.

"But the government he leads is a complete shambles."

READ MORE: The major policy differences between Minns and Perrottet

Anthony Albanese, Lyndal Howison, and Jerome Laxdale at West Ryde Public School during New South Wales state election day

Earlier, both leaders began their election-day campaigning on Today.

Premier Perrottet said he has been in contact with his predecessor, Gladys Berejiklian, leading up to the election.

"We've been texting each other and you know she's been a great support for me," he said.

READ MORE: Why the outcome in NSW will have a big impact at a national level

New South Wales Premier Dominic Perrottet and Opposition Leader Chris Minns have begun election day festivities on the Today Show, as the state heads out to vote.

Perrottet also spoke about his government's plans for the future, specifically about his commitment to the kids savings accounts policy, which would match savings made by parents for their children before they turn 18.

He was questioned whether voters could trust the Liberal government after scandals plagued the last 12 years of government.

"How can they (voters) be sure that that kind of history won't repeat itself," Today host Jayne Azzopardi asked the Premier.

"There are always challenges when you have been in government for a decade. The question is this: is NSW a better place today than it was 10 years ago? And the answer is, yes," Perrottet replied.

Opposition Leader Chris Minns also made an appearance on Weekend Today, saying that despite early polls showing the Labor party in the lead, he and his team are "taking nothing for granted."

"We know it's the people of NSW's decisions and basically polls at this point aren't worth anything because people actually have to get out and vote," Minns said.

"So we're hopeful. We're going into this election with a hungry but humble philosophy."

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New South Wales Premier Dominic Perrottet and Opposition Leader Chris Minns have begun election day festivities on the Today Show, as the state heads out to vote.

The opposition leader also rejected the idea that his government would do any deals with crossbenchers to secure a majority government, and said that it's "not appropriate" to engage in those discussions before anyone has had a chance to vote.

"We've got every right If we are the biggest party to put our platform on the floor of the NSW parliament," he said.

"I've got a team that's committed, united, very disciplined.

"It's run an election campaign that has been hopeful and optimistic about what's possible in NSW."

'We're all scared. We've all had enough'

Alice Springs locals have issued a desperate plea to the Prime Minister after a night of violent crime which saw a television broadcast centre broken into.

Overnight Imparja Television was broken into and a vehicle full of equipment was stolen. Another car appeared to have been torched in the car park of the local Kmart.

Imparja Television is a free-to-air broadcaster affiliated with the Nine Network, the publisher of this website.

https://omny.fm/shows/ben-fordham-full-show/now-message-from-darren-clarke-in-alice-springs-af/embed

READ MORE: Rural desert town offers $20,000 to move there, with a catch

About $10,000 of damage was done inside Imparja, though the broadcasts were not affected.

When the vehicle was stolen, it was rammed through the car park roller door.

Some of the damage done inside the television station.

Darren Clarke from Action for Alice recorded an angry and impassioned plea and shared it with the Ben Fordham show on 2GB.

"It's full of youths. It's full of drunks. It's out of control," Clarke said.

"Albanese, step up to the plate."

He lambasted Prime Minister Anthony Albanese for only staying in the city for four hours during his visit.

"Don't ignore us any longer Anthony. Govern for all the people in Australia.

"You've got young kids running the streets here, mate. You will never ever fix this cycle of crime.

"We're all scared. We've all had enough."

READ MORE: The Aussie town Australia Post is refusing to deliver to

9news.com.au has reached out to the Northern Territory Police for comment.

Alice Springs has seen a dramatic rise in crime in the past few years, with assaults especially high.

Data released in February showed a dramatic spike in crime between 2021 and 2022.

Assaults went up 51 per cent in one calendar year, with 2823 reported in a town of 26,000.

Domestic violence-related assaults spiked even higher, up 65 per cent. Alcohol-related assaults were up 68 per cent.

There were 1886 reported instances of domestic violence, and 1521 assaults related to alcohol.

Property damage was up 55 per cent, and commercial break-ins were up 47 per cent.

READ MORE: Call for action as Qantas cuts flights to Alice Springs

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