Eric the ready

FOR a man who by all predictions will find his party dumped from power in a Liberal landslide on March 26, Eric Roozendaal is incredibly calm.

Polls have predicted Labor’s hold could be reduced to as few as 16 seats in the Lower House, after the NSW election.

But if the country’s most senior Jewish politician is concerned, his face doesn’t show it. In a wide ranging discussion that covered everything from the party’s prospects at the polls to promoting trade with Israel as well as his fear that the public will be suckered into supporting the Greens’ “extreme agenda”, the Treasurer seemed cautiously optimistic.

“There’s no doubt this is a very tough election,” he said. “We’re seeking a fifth term, it’s going to be a very tough fight. But Kristina Keneally has demonstrated that she’s a very strong campaigner. She’s beaten Barry O’Farrell in every debate they’ve held and beaten him convincingly.

“We’ve been in Government 16 years, [and] I think any modern government seeking to go to into the twenties is going to have challenges.”

The challenge confronting the party is one former Labor premier Bob Carr told journalists would have been “inconceivable” during his time in charge of the party.

Frequent leadership changes, the controversial electricity sale, community anger over state planning legislation and public transport bungles have all given O’Farrell plenty to smile about as election day nears.

But for Roozendaal, being relegated to the opposition benches is not something he will admit to considering.

“I don’t accept we’ll be in opposition so I don’t think that we need to go there,” he replied when asked about his plans should Labor lose, as expected. “I think there’s a lot to achieve still for the people of New South Wales.

“There’s the implementation of our $50.2 billion transport plan, there’s the implementation of our $62.2 billion infrastructure plan over the next four years.

“There’s protecting the state’s surpluses and continuing to grow the economy and grow new industries in NSW, whether it be high-value defence industries, an area we’re really investing a lot into at the moment, [or] creative industries.”

Roozendaal said diversifying the NSW economy is a high priority for Labor.

“We don’t have the same strength as Western Australia or Queensland does in terms of minerals or commodities, but we have a more diverse economy and we’re encouraging those industries,” he said.

“[For example] the development at Barangaroo, 22 hectares of the most environmentally friendly financial precinct in the world, will ensure we stay the financial services capital for South East Asia.

“They’re the achievements that are ahead for the people of New South Wales and they’re the sort of things that I want to continue to work towards.”

While he wouldn’t concede Labor would lose, he pledged his intention to serve a full term regardless of the election outcome.

“Well it’s certainly my intention to stay in public life and to stay in the parliament, yes.”
IT was Roozendaal himself who brought up Keneally’s admission made last month, that Labor had lost its way.

“We did lose our way as the Premier has said, but she’s certainly put us back on the right track,” he said. “We really need to show the electorate that we still have the ability, and deliver better results.”

One issue he remains unapologetic about however, is the controversial sale of some of the state’s electricity assets last December, the handling of which had union bosses calling for his resignation.

“I think when you undertake the biggest economic reform in a generation, you have to make some tough decisions,” he said. “They’re not always the politically easy decisions, but they were needed to protect the state’s AAA credit rating, to ensure the state’s financial security [and] to ensure that the people of NSW weren’t paying for future power stations to be built.

“There’s no doubt there’s been a lot of political controversy around it, but I think when the proper independent assessment is made, it will be seen to be very good value for the people of NSW.”

As Treasurer, Roozendaal said he was proudest of maintaining NSW’s credit rating during a time of global financial turmoil.

“We got through the Global Financial Crisis (GFC) pretty much untouched,” he said. “We improved our creditworthiness during the GFC which is unheard of internationally.

“Unemployment now sits at about 4.9 per cent, the second lowest in the country. We’ve seen quarters of continuous growth, really good results for the people of this state and now we will see strengthening [of the] balance sheet to ensure that when the next downturn hits, NSW can survive that and continue to fund frontline services.”
LAST week The AJN reported that the NSW Government has been negotiating to establish a trade agreement with Israel.

Roozendaal has been involved in the discussions and it is unsurprising he is fond of the initiative.

“It’s about developing a relationship [and] opportunities for investment into New South Wales, and investment back into Israel,” he said.  “It’s a very important decision of the Government, to encourage investment, to encourage better relations.”

It comes as no surprise then that he is highly critical of the recent decision of the Greens-led Marrickville Council to adopt Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions against Israel as policy, echoing their state Greens counterparts.

“The Greens are an extreme political party, there’s no doubt about it,” he said. “For the best part they hide their extreme political views and pretend they’re all about the environment, but when you actually look a bit deeper, whether it’s boycotting Israel, or stopping a Jewish day school buying the land that it’s built on, it’s all part of their real extreme agenda.

“It worries me that there are a lot of young people that think it’s a nice, environmentally friendly party when in fact it’s an extreme political party.

“And if they get the balance of power in NSW, they will seriously damage the future the future of this state.”

Roozendaal has proudly spoken out against extremism in any form throughout his political career.

“I think the price of liberty is eternal vigilance,” he said. “I think certainly on issues in relation to Israel and the Middle East I’ve certainly been quite outspoken and strong in terms of defending the community.

“[But] in issues of racism and defending minorities, I’ve spoken in support of the Muslim community as well.

“I think we need to treat everybody with respect, with kindness, and that’s certainly how I’ve tried to conduct myself.”

GARETH NARUNSKY

Image: Eric Roozendaal. Photo: Ingrid Shakenovsky/AJN

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