Newly minted NSW Liberal leader Kellie Sloane has wasted no time attacking Labor, saying its sluggish performance has made people feel they are in a rut.
The former TV news journalist-turned-first-term MP said the nation's most populous state had stalled under Premier Chris Minns.
"The people of NSW expect us to be ambitious ... what I'm hearing from people everywhere at the moment is that they're working harder ... and life doesn't feel like it's progressing," she told ABC Radio Sydney on Monday.
She also attacked Labor's inaction on problem gambling, including a failed $3.4 million cashless gaming trial that only had 14 participants.
However, in a departure from her predecessor Mark Speakman, Ms Sloane sought an end to the problematic overhaul of the state's beleaguered workers' compensation scheme.
More than 3.6 million workers are covered by the state's nominal insurer, Insurance and Care NSW (icare), but psychological claims now account for 38 per cent of the scheme's total cost.
The government had proposed urgent changes to rein in spiralling costs but was voted down in parliament earlier in November by the coalition and the Greens.
On Monday, Ms Sloane offered a possible compromise, noting "reform is absolutely necessary".
"We can't justify the cost blowouts at the moment," she said.
"We've been working actively to reduce the front-end costs of the scheme, rather than what Labor's doing and targeting the seriously injured workers who never have a hope of getting back to work."
The government's changes would have made it harder to claim for psychological injuries such as post-traumatic stress disorder, anxiety and depression.
Mr Minns told reporters he would welcome any breakthroughs before Friday, the last day of parliament, but was not holding his breath.
Having made two appearances in western Sydney as leader, including to Little India, Ms Sloane brushed off any suggestions she was out of touch with NSW residents for representing the well-heeled electorate of Vaucluse.
"People probably don't care so much where I live as they care about what I stand up for," she said.
"This is a reset for our party. It's about me getting out ... and then telling our story better, what we stand up for."
