Election issues for NSW

FEDERAL ELECTION ISSUES IN NSW

CSG MINING

Coal seam gas mining is a big issue in the northern rural electorate of New England where Nationals leader Barnaby Joyce and independent former member Tony Windsor are set for a tight battle. Mr Windsor took a high profile in the fight against the Shenhua Watermark mine since retiring from parliament in 2013 while the deputy PM says he is against any mining that may affect the water or environment.

BADGERYS CREEK TRAIN

The Liberal government and the ALP have both backed plans for a train line to the site of Sydney's much-anticipated second airport at Badgerys Creek but neither have made a firm funding commitment. The PM says he hopes the rail link is ready by the time the airport opens in the mid-2020s while Labor says it wants projects to be built using both private investment and taxpayer dollars.

JOBS

Creating jobs in marginal western Sydney seats - where unemployment is high - will be important for both parties. Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull has promised a $1 billion innovation plan which he says will create more local jobs by boosting start-ups and small businesses. Opposition Leader Bill Shorten meanwhile says he wants to see more jobs generated through the city's west so that jobs aren't "just afforded to those who live near the CBD".

SCHOOLS FUNDING

In April a war of words broke out between the NSW Education Minister Adrian Piccoli and the federal government over schools funding policy. Mr Piccoli has said the PM's proposal to give states full responsibility for funding public schools would be the biggest mistake in the history of Australian education policy. The Liberal MP is calling on the federal government to fund the final two years of Gonski in full. Labor has already committed in January to funding the full six years.