4 March 2017 – NSW Parliament Wrap Up

Last week may have been a slow news week for the NSW Parliament, but that doesn’t mean they weren’t getting on with business.

The Government was busy lining up a series of policy announcements across several portfolios, which it rolled out progressively this week day by day.

Just in time for your Saturday morning, here's a recap of the week that was...

The big news on Monday was Treasurer Dominic Perrottet’s reveal of data from the Australian Bureau of Statistics showing that business spending in NSW has increased by 10 per cent in the last 12 months, to $29.2 billion. While the NSW economy’s strong performance might be a familiar news story, it is impressive growth considering business investment fell in all other states by more than 20 per cent in the same period. The figures also show a record 5.2 per cent lift in housing investment in the December quarter, cementing NSW as the nation’s top-performing economy.

In the morning, the Premier and Minister for Transport and Infrastructure Andrew Constance committed to expanding the Government’s $1.5 billion ‘More Trains, More Services’ program to include more frequent services for commuters travelling from Sydney’s west to the CBD. As a result of the program’s expansion, an extra 20 express trains will operate during peak periods between Campbelltown/Macarthur and the CBD.

Minister for Early Childhood Education Sarah Mitchell also announced on Monday that NSW will adopt laws to introduce greater quality control standards for the family day care sector. The reforms, which will introduce a mandated educator-to-child ratio of 1:15, are due to be introduced to Parliament in October this year before coming into effect in February 2018.

In one of her first announcements as Minister for the Environment, Gabrielle Upton revealed that the NSW Government’s Saving our Species conservation program will grant $100,000 for a project for the study of koala populations in south-western Sydney. The project ties in with the development of a NSW Koala Strategy, launched by former Environment Minister (and now Attorney General) Mark Speakman. A NSW Government report released last year showed koala populations have declined in NSW by 26 per cent over the past two decades. Save the koalas!

“I had too many sausage rolls and cream buns and Zooper Doopers.” – Premier Gladys Berejiklian

On Tuesday, the Premier and Minister for Education Rob Stokes launched the Government’s new Healthy Schools Canteen strategy at Balgowlah North Public School. The new system—which delivers on one of the Premier’s priorities to reduce instances of childhood obesity in NSW by five per cent by 2025—will require school canteens to redesign their menus so that at least three quarters of options are freshly made. All other options will need to have a Health Star Rating of 3.5 or higher (a federal nutrition rating system). As Minister Stokes said, the strategy may well spell the end of the devon and sauce sandwich at the school tuck shop…

Wednesday saw Minister for Finance, Services and Property Victor Dominello reveal the scope of the Government’s ‘e-conveyancing’ reforms. By July 2019, all settlement and lodgement stages in the conveyancing process will be able to be undertaken online. The reform was announced by Minister Dominello’s predecessor, Dominic Perrottet, in November last year, following the findings of a Conveyancing Reform Committee made up of representatives from the legal, financial and real estate industries. You can find more information about the paper-free reform here.

Also on Wednesday, Minister for Sport Stuart Ayres and Member for Parramatta Geoff Lee announced that the Government will begin accepting feedback on Stage Two plans for the new Western Sydney Stadium later this month. The 30,000 seat stadium, which is projected to cost $300 million, will be built by LendLease and is scheduled to open in 2019.

Thursday saw Minister for Planning Anthony Roberts announce that a new online development application portal will launch later this year. The portal will streamline the notoriously complex DA process, enabling any type of application to be lodged for any council from anywhere. Usefully, the reform to the Environmental Planning and Assessment Regulation 2000 will also mean that there is a consistent DA process for all councils in the state. The Department of Planning and Environment is currently accepting feedback on the proposed reform. Read more here.

Finally, it was revealed on Thursday that by-elections for the seats of Gosford, Manly and North Shore will be held on April 8. Expect to be hearing a lot more on that front in the coming weeks.

Finally, on Friday, Minister for Health Brad Hazzard released the design for the second stage of the Hornsby Ku-ring-gai Hospital redevelopment. Stage Two, which is projected to cost $200 million, will offer new emergency and intensive care facilities, increased car parking and expanded clinical services for patients and visitors. More information about the redevelopment can be found here.