A NSW Labor government would deliver healthier budget surpluses than the coalition over the next four years, figures from the state's Parliamentary Budget Office (PBO) suggest.
But NSW Treasurer Andrew Constance says it is easy for Labor to perform well on paper, and voters should consider the party's track record when they head to the polls on Saturday.
The PBO, led by former federal Department of Finance deputy head Stephen Bartos, released its budget impact statements for both major parties on Monday afternoon.
It is the first time that an Australian opposition party has had its election policies costed by an independent PBO.
The reports suggested both sides' plans for the state would put NSW in the black each year over the forward estimates.
Labor would deliver a budget surplus of nearly $1.48 billion in 2017/18, compared with a re-elected coalition government's $1.07 billion estimated surplus for the same financial year, according to the PBO.
"There will be a series of very strong budget surpluses under a Labor government," Opposition Leader Luke Foley told journalists.
"You don't have to take it from me, you can take it from the independent budget office."
But the treasurer says the opposition cannot be trusted to stay on track.
"Even a Labor government can deliver a surplus by increasing tax and cancelling projects," Mr Constance said.
"It's one thing to submit a bunch of policies, but it's another thing to deliver them ...
"This is where Luke Foley is untested. The guy's been around since January."
Labor says it will find extra savings by cutting the number of senior executive staff to save $220 million, and reining in government spending on consultants and contractors by $900 million.
Mr Foley said his cabinet would include five fewer ministers than the Baird government's: "I don't think that some of the ministers in this current government are carrying a full ministerial workload."
Among the savings the government is counting on are a new car-sharing trial for public servants, and a 1.5 per cent efficiency dividend for government departments.
Frontline service providers like the ministry of health, emergency services, education, TAFE NSW and the Department of Family and Community Services would be exempt from that savings drive.
Some promises made by both Labor and the coalition extend well beyond the forward estimates, and are therefore not covered by the PBO report.
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