New State Government's First Budget in Review
The incoming Treasurer’s first Budget was handed down on Tuesday with no real surprises and a predictable focus on debt reduction and public sector wages growth.
Daniel Mookhey handed down the Appropriations Bill to the NSW Parliament acknowledging that high inflation and a tight employment market are the focus of the Government’s economic plan.
Cuts were made to a number of programs including the Active Kids Voucher, arts and cultural programs and, notably, the axing of the $3000 EV subsidy as the Government works to reassure Ratings Agencies that they are fiscally prudent and deserving of a AAA Credit Rating. This will be helped by a surprise extra $17.6 Billion thanks to growth in land tax, transfer duty and payroll tax receipts.
The local government sector has acknowledged the challenges facing the State Government in handing down this budget, with LGNSW saying “Unfortunately, the Budget offers little by way of improvements for the financial sustainability of local government, although there are some bright spots in the areas of housing, health, transport and education.”
Keynote figures include $390m for repairing regional and remote roads, $334m for new regional roads, $2.4b for western Sydney roads and a total of $4b towards disaster relief.
The full Budget can be read at www.budget.nsw.gov.au
IPWEA NSW & ACT will continue to advocate to both the Government and the Opposition to ensure the sustainability of Local Government in providing the community infrastructure the people of NSW needs.
Daniel Mookhey handed down the Appropriations Bill to the NSW Parliament acknowledging that high inflation and a tight employment market are the focus of the Government’s economic plan.
Cuts were made to a number of programs including the Active Kids Voucher, arts and cultural programs and, notably, the axing of the $3000 EV subsidy as the Government works to reassure Ratings Agencies that they are fiscally prudent and deserving of a AAA Credit Rating. This will be helped by a surprise extra $17.6 Billion thanks to growth in land tax, transfer duty and payroll tax receipts.
The local government sector has acknowledged the challenges facing the State Government in handing down this budget, with LGNSW saying “Unfortunately, the Budget offers little by way of improvements for the financial sustainability of local government, although there are some bright spots in the areas of housing, health, transport and education.”
Keynote figures include $390m for repairing regional and remote roads, $334m for new regional roads, $2.4b for western Sydney roads and a total of $4b towards disaster relief.
The full Budget can be read at www.budget.nsw.gov.au
IPWEA NSW & ACT will continue to advocate to both the Government and the Opposition to ensure the sustainability of Local Government in providing the community infrastructure the people of NSW needs.