WHEN former premier Mike Baird fronted the cameras in October 2016 and announced he was backing down on his ban on greyhound racing, he did two things for the NSW Government.
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First, he neutralised an issue that had emboldened Luke Foley’s Opposition, antagonised the conservative media and enraged the NSW Nationals’ traditional supporters in the bush.
Second, he made it clear that this was a government that would back down when the voices of its critics and its constituents reached a certain pitch – even after maintaining for months that he had no intention of doing any such thing.
So is it any wonder that as the political year winds down, watchers of state politics have been alert for any sign that Mr Baird’s successor, Gladys Berejiklian, is wavering in her confidence in the NSW Government’s latest controversial policy: the Sydney stadiums rebuild?
The $2 billion decision to knock down and rebuild Allianz and ANZ stadiums at Moore Park and Homebush has been close to friendless from the start.
While the sporting organisations that will use the new stadiums have come out in clear support, as have a number of sports columnists who say the economic benefits of the plan are clear, members of the public seem to have made up their mind.
The rebuilds have been attacked from all sides: by those who say football stadiums should be funded by football clubs; by those who say the NSW Government should save its money for upgrading hospitals and schools; by those who say Sydney is getting enough infrastructure spending as it is; and by those who question why any 17-year-old stadium would have to be torn down in the first place.
That’s a lot of criticism and a lot of critics.
Ms Berejiklian has ignored those critics so far, saying the decision has been made and it won’t be reversed.
But Mr Baird said something similar about the greyhound racing ban before he fronted that press conference in October 2016 and soberly announced that he had “got it wrong”.
A new year might take the sting out of the stadiums issue as new controversies and new concerns take voters’ attention.
But if the outcry continues, it will be interesting to watch the reaction. What are the chances of Ms Berejiklian calling a mea culpa press conference early in 2018?
