NSW poll win boosts Morrison's hopes

By Marnie Banger

March 25, 2019

A coalition win in the NSW state election has reassured Scott Morrison's federal government that it can woo voters by playing up its economic management credentials.

The Liberal-National coalition is also reportedly planning to ramp up spending in the bush when the federal budget is handed down on April 2 to shore up support from rural and regional voters.

NSW Liberal Premier Gladys Berejiklian's government was returned on Saturday, winning 46 seats out of 93, despite polls in the lead-up to the vote pointing to a hung parliament or a narrow loss to Labor for her coalition.

Federal Attorney-General Christian Porter said the outcome had reassured the Morrison government it can win the federal poll, expected in May, despite opinion polls pointing towards a Labor victory.

Like the Berejiklian government, the federal government is focused on delivering a strong economy and budget position and reinvesting the benefits into services and infrastructure, he said.

"That is precisely the model that we have been working on for six years," Mr Porter told reporters in Perth on Sunday.

"This proves, if you like, the underlying confidence we've had. We believe this shows that the next election is absolutely winnable."

And despite the NSW Nationals lost ground in the weekend election, their federal counterparts are still hopeful.

"The message out of NSW was, for the federal government in particular ... don't write us off," federal Nationals MP Darren Chester said.

Federal Opposition Leader Bill Shorten doesn't believe the NSW election results has many implications for Labor's campaign to win government, but he's not taking anything for granted.

"People are hungry for vision," Mr Shorten said in Melbourne.

Meanwhile, The Australian on Monday cited a senior cabinet minister as saying the federal budget it will feature a "significant" regional economic package for the bush.