Social enterprise leader Kylie Flament is standing as an independent for the NSW state seat of Keira, held by Labor since 2011. The seat is currently held by NSW Health Minister Ryan Park. Flament, who has never held political office, says voters want alternatives to party politics. Her campaign launch drew about 100 people at Corrimal Community Centre on October 17. Her main priorities include hospital wait times and housing. She says her campaign starts with far less funding than the major parties, which receive public money based on past vote tallies.
Independent MP Helen Dalton has confirmed she will stand for re-election in the Murray seat at the 2027 NSW state election. Dalton is currently the only candidate registered with the NSW Electoral Commission for Murray. Media reports say the NSW Nationals plan to run a rival candidate, expected to be chosen by December. Dalton said her independence lets her focus on voters rather than party politics. The election is scheduled for 13 March 2027.
The NSW Opposition says cafés could be fined $22,000 if they fail to offer a reusable cup under a proposed bill. Under the bill, businesses would have to offer reusable cups through a reuse scheme and could not charge for them. Coffs Harbour MP Gurmesh Singh says the plan adds costs and red tape for struggling businesses. The Liberals and Nationals have moved amendments to scrap the mandatory scheme and exempt small businesses, but Labor and the Greens voted against them. The Opposition says the government has not explained how the scheme would work in practice.
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NSW Premier Chris Minns has agreed to restore gendered terms such as mother and women to the state Parliament's breastfeeding policy. The change followed criticism from Opposition Leader Kellie Sloane, who objected to the removal of those words from the policy. The seven-page policy sets out support for breastfeeding employees, including lactation breaks and workplace facilities. Sloane said only women breastfeed babies and welcomed the reversal on social media. Critics argue many people who do not identify as women also breastfeed, and say gendered wording is inaccurate.
Some New South Wales MPs say a security briefing left them more worried about their protection in parliament. Liberal MP Alister Henskens said some MPs were in tears because the answers were inadequate. The concern followed an attack on federal independent MP Helen Haines in Victoria and an anti-coal protester who jumped onto the parliament floor last week. Henskens criticised the slowness of the security response. Speaker Greg Piper said additional special constables had been assigned after the breach.
Badgerys Creek MP Tanya Davies will not contest the 2027 State Election, a decision she announced on Thursday afternoon. She said her time in Parliament had been an honour and a deep privilege. The decision leaves the Liberal Party without a candidate in three local seats, with none confirmed for Penrith or Londonderry, five months before the election. Davies first won the seat of Mulgoa from Labor in 2011 and was returned at three later elections. She did not say what prompted her decision.
The NSW Liberal and National parties have proposed changes to payroll tax law they say could ease costs for small and family businesses. Their plan would lift the payroll tax threshold from $1.2 million to $1.5 million and cut the rate from 5.45 per cent to 4.75 per cent for firms with Australian payroll below $10 million. It would also index thresholds to inflation. Shadow minister Gurmesh Singh urged Labor to back the legislation, while shadow treasurer Scott Farlow said the reforms would make NSW more competitive for jobs and investment.
NSW Opposition Leader Kellie Sloane has told gun owners who do not want to surrender their firearms to hold on to them. She vowed to scrap key elements of the state's gun buyback scheme if the Liberals win government in the March election. The Shooters Union has urged gun owners to boycott the scheme. Phase one, due to start in two weeks, offers between $450 and $1000 to licence holders who are above the new legal limit. Sloane said the focus should be on illegal firearms held by organised criminals and terrorists instead.
Ballina Mayor Sharon Cadwallader has announced she will run as an independent for the NSW seat of Ballina. She made the announcement outside Ballina District Hospital, saying local ratepayers are carrying costs that the state government should meet. She pointed to the $6.3 million SES headquarters, where the council paid $4.2 million and the state paid $2.1 million. Her campaign will focus on health, housing, roads, flood resilience and policing. Former Ballina News Daily publisher Rod Bruem has publicly backed her campaign.
NSW's joint state and Commonwealth gun buyback opens on 2 November. Owners who hold more firearms than the new 4- or 10-gun limits allow are eligible for payments of $1000 for revolvers and $850 for semi-automatic handguns and double-barrel shotguns. Dealers can access grants of up to $25,000. A second phase, with compensation for eligible firearms valued above $3000, is planned for early 2027. The Opposition Leader, Kellie Sloane, has pledged to freeze the buyback and scrap ownership limits for farmers if elected in March, pending a commission of inquiry.
Ballina Shire Mayor Sharon Cadwallader has launched an independent bid for the Ballina seat at the 2027 NSW election, saying she is there to win. The seat is held by retiring Greens MP Tamara Smith, and the Greens have selected Mandy Nolan to defend it. Cadwallader says the electorate is missing out on infrastructure and funding, and that an independent MP could negotiate with whichever party forms government. She said she would remain Mayor during the campaign, as NSW law permits.
A climate protester breached security at NSW Parliament on Tuesday, leaping from the public gallery onto the chamber floor during question time. The man, from the activist group Rising Tide, jumped the railing in an attempt to confront Premier Chris Minns. Labor backbencher David Saliba joined other colleagues in restraining him, saying he heard a large thump while everyone's backs were turned. Parliament security detained the man, and he has not been charged. The Speaker has ordered a full review of the breach and wider security measures around Parliament House.
A climate protester was restrained by NSW MPs after he climbed over a barrier and interrupted question time in the state parliament. Andrew Sneddon said he was protesting the state's approval of an extension to the Hunter Valley Operations coalmine. Police said he was removed from the room and issued a move-on direction, and no further action is expected. NSW Attorney General Michael Daley called the behaviour completely unacceptable.
NSW Treasurer Daniel Mookhey wants One Nation's election platform reviewed by the Parliamentary Budget Office, in addition to the costing already required of Labor and the opposition. The office would produce a budget impact statement for all three parties before the March state election. Premier Chris Minns said the process keeps parties accountable to voters. One Nation state leader Mike Newman rejected the move, calling it a political stitch-up. The Greens oppose the plan, saying it would give One Nation undue credibility. The government needs opposition support to pass the change through the upper house.
The NSW Labor government wants the Parliamentary Budget Office to cost One Nation's election policies, as it already does for major parties. Treasurer Daniel Mookhey said voters deserve independent advice on the proposals, and accused One Nation of living in a budget fantasy land. Deputy leader Barnaby Joyce argued the office's costings rely on Labor's treasury position and said One Nation would rather use its own accountants. Under the proposed changes, Labor, the Liberals and One Nation would all have to submit policies for costing.
