By Max Maddison,Nigel Gladstone

Copyright smh

The analysis reveals the policy areas Minns and Opposition Leader Mark Speakman have considered strengths of their own party and vulnerabilities in the other.

Since the March 2023 election, Minns has hammered home two key messages: highlighting the previous Coalition government’s public sector wage cap (135 mentions) while talking about improving the availability of housing supply across NSW (101).

The wages cap has worked for Minns in two ways. First, it has been used to explain the prevalence of problems throughout the state’s essential services, through hospitals, schools, police and trains. The comments often work in tandem with Minns highlighting the Coalition’s 12 years in power.

In response to a question about 24/7 ambulance coverage in the Goulburn region in March this year, Minns first addressed the issue, then turned it back on the Coalition. The strategy of using the wages cap as a shield has been a central part of the premier’s arsenal of arguments.