The Minns government has a major task ahead of it to stabilise NSW’s growing debt and avoid a credit downrating for the second most debt-burdened state.
The New South Wales budget on September 19 will be the first big policy test of the state’s new Labor government.
Whichever side won the March election was going to have a major budget repair task ahead of it. This was partly because of the one-off costs of the pandemic. Remarkably, operating expenses in the three years to 2021/22 – a period that covers the rolling peaks of the pandemic – were $63 billion higher than if the pre-pandemic trend line of operating expenses had continued.
There are various measures of this. On one of them – general government gross debt – the increase has been from $32 billion in June 2018 to the most recent estimate of $129 billion in June 2023. The task is to remove the excesses that crept in when discipline went out the window in the pandemic years. It is to shift the focus fromof the services. It is to reform the way services are delivered to get the same or better results at lower cost. And it is to rethink the rash election promise on public sector wages before it blows up the budget.
United States Latest News, United States Headlines
Similar News:You can also read news stories similar to this one that we have collected from other news sources.
Cost of living relief for NSW as Minns government reveals first state budgetA sign of relief for motorists, public sector workers and households in New South Wales as the Minns government reveals a sneak peek at its first state budget. A $60-a-week toll cap will come into effect next year, saving almost 720,000 motorists up to $500 a year, a cash rebate scheme that will cost more than $560 million over two years. A $3.6 billion 'Essential Services Fund' will be established to cover the wage rises for nurses, teachers and other public sector workers. The ‘Essential Services Fund’ aims to help keep workers onboard and address the critical staffing shortage. Concession card holders, pensioners and families will receive up to $350 back from their power bills following the government’s announcement of a $100 million energy rebate scheme. The state budget will be released on Tuesday.
Read more »
Everything you need to know about the first Minns government budgetNSW residents will soon be handed the first Labor state budget in more than a decade, with promises of short-term relief and long-term reforms.
Read more »
What to expect in the NSW budgetThe NSW Labor government has flagged a raft of big-ticket spending items as it prepares to hand down its first budget since 2010.
Read more »
Film and TV producers furious at budget cuts, warn of exodus from NSWNSW government support lured big-budget productions like Thor and the new Mad Max film to NSW. Now they’ve been axed.
Read more »
NSW public transport passengers get cheaper fares on Fridays, but overall Opal prices go upMinns government ditches half-price fares after eight journeys in a week, saying Friday discount will benefit more people
Read more »
Public transport fares to increase in NSWThe state government said it has delayed the price hike to help ease cost-of-living pressures.
Read more »