John Howard has backed Dom Perrottet's courage on pokies as a public health peak body marks down Labor's pokies policy and budget black holes are revealed.
John Howard said he hoped the coalition will win a fourth term in office but couldn't be sure of anything except that voters "always get it right", telling reporters on Sunday:
"They will give Dom Perrottet marks for having the courage, he showed great courage on poker machines."
It comes as the Public Health Association on Monday condemned Labor for hesitating with a cashless gaming on 500 poker machines.
While the coalition will ban cash on NSW's 86,000 machines by 2028, Labor says more evidence is required before it's mandated.
The Association's state president Kate McBride said:
"We are extremely disappointed that Labor is refusing to realise the opportunity to protect the health and wellbeing of their communities who are being crushed by the gambling industry.
"Labor's current gambling policy is a disappointing dud worthy of a red light."
Gaming was the sole public health green light for the coalition or Labor, both marked poorly for action on vaping and childhood obesity, and the coalition deemed worse on climate change and preventative health.
Meanwhile, voters on Monday will get their first complete look at the true cost of the major parties' election promises when the independent Parliamentary Budget Office releases budget statements.
But it will be too late for thousands of voters who cast their vote on Saturday - day one of pre-poll.
Two thousand early voting centres, reopening Monday, are expected to be used by about 30 per cent of the state's 5.5 million electors.
Another 480,000 have requested postal voting.
Over the weekend, Labor leader Chris Minns pledged to protect Sydney Water and Hunter Water from snap privatisation, by embedding them into the constitution.
Victoria made a similar move in 2003 to entrench water authorities as public entities, he said on Sunday:
"Labor also believes that a guaranteed right to a safe, reliable, supply of clean water - provided by the government of this state – should be a constitutionally protected right for the people of NSW."