Lisa Wilkinson’s daughter, Billi FitzSimons, grills Dominic Perrottet in the pre-election interview

Billi FitzSimons has channeled her hard-line journalist mum during a fiery interview with NSW Premier Dominic Perrottet, making her mum Lisa Wilkinson “very proud”.

The daughter of journalists Lisa Wilkinson and Peter FitzSimons sat down with the prime minister for a video interview before the state election on Saturday.

The editor of news website The Daily Aus asked Mr Perrottet a series of questions about his party’s policies on health, climate and housing.

She asked the Head of State why, unlike most jurisdictions in Australia, NSW has not committed or introduced a mandatory nurse-patient ratio.

“We believe our approach is working,” replied Mr. Perrottet.

“I understand that there are different perspectives on this. Ultimately, we have to do everything we can to relieve the burden on the healthcare system.

“I am very proud that NSW has the strongest healthcare system in the country.”

Billi FitzSimons (pictured with her journalist mother Lisa Wilkinson in 2017) grilled Dominic Perrottet about his guidelines and smoking habits during a sit-down interview

NSW Prime Minister Dominic Perrottet was interviewed by Billi FitzSimons ahead of the state elections on Saturday March 25

Asked about government school funding, Mr Perrottet said his party had invested a record amount in public education.

“We fund mostly state schools in the NSW public system,” he said.

“We looked at all areas of government funding and made significant investments in our public education system. I’m very focused on getting better outcomes in education and that’s exactly what we’ve done.”

The prime minister was asked how he was preparing the state for its next natural disaster.

Mr Perrottet said his government would work to cut carbon emissions if re-elected after witnessing firsthand the devastation in flood-hit areas.

“We are a country where there are floods and bushfires,” he said.

“We have to make sure that we’re not just doing the things that we’ve done in the past because next time we’re just going to be in the same position.”

Billi (pictured with her mother) graduated from the University of Sydney in 2019 and was appointed editor of the news site in March 2022

Billi ended the interview with a more personal question for the Premier.

“You recently admitted that you vape occasionally and what your favorite flavor is. What message does that send to young people?’ She asked.

‘Well, the first thing I would say is that you shouldn’t smoke,’ said Mr Perrottet.

“And I made that very clear. When it comes to vaping, we’ve invested heavily in making sure those public messages are loud and clear.

‘Nobody is perfect. Nobody is perfect. And I’ve found that vaping has occasionally helped me get off cigarettes. You can [vape] in NSW with prescription.’

Billi urged her followers to check out her interviews with Mr Perrottet and Labor leader Chris Minns on her personal Instagram page.

“Great work, darling. Very proud,” commented her mother, Lisa Wilkinson.

Mr Perrottet will be running against opposition leader Chris Minns (pictured with his family) when NSW residents go to the polls on Saturday March 25

Billi worked for the online publication Mamamia throughout college before landing a job as a political writer at The Daily Aus after graduating.

She graduated from the University of Sydney in 2019 with a Bachelor of Arts (Media and Communications), Government and International Relations, Digital Cultures.

Billi was appointed editor of The Daily Aus in March last year.