3 June 2017 – NSW Parliament Wrap Up
The Government made headlines twice this week, for better and for worse...
On Tuesday, the Government was forced to back down on its much-heralded Fire and Emergency Services Levy reforms after it discovered that it had been relying on inaccurate data. The Treasurer and Premier will now go back to the drawing board on the issue, hopefully to reintroduce a more solid reform later this year.
In happier news, Thursday saw the reveal of a major housing affordability package. We've mentioned the Premier's commitment to this issue many times before, and the Government has made the most of its strong financial position by offering first home buyers a series of stamp duty concessions. Who said governments only know how to take, not give?
Read on to find out more…
Lendlease awarded contract for Badgerys Creek roads
On Monday, Minister for Western Sydney Stuart Ayres teamed up with Federal Minister for Urban Infrastructure Paul Fletcher to announce that Lendlease had been awarded a contract to build 15 kilometres of roads surrounding the future Western Sydney Airport. Under the contract, Lendlease will build an 11.5 kilometre section of the Northern Road—as part of a broader $1.6 billion Northern Road initiative—and upgrade a 4.3 kilometre section of Bringelly Road. The projects are due for completion by 2020, prior to the opening of the Western Sydney Airport.
Just when you thought the issue of shark nets in NSW was settled…
We thought last week marked the end of the Government’s announcement blitz about its north coast shark net trial. Three weeks ago, PremierState reported that the trial would end on June 13. However, an increase in whale sightings has since prompted the Government to bring that date forward, with the nets having been progressively removed from Monday onwards.
Fire & Emergency Services Levy reforms deferred indefinitely
The big story on Tuesday was Premier Gladys Berejiklian and Treasurer Dominic Perrottet’s decision to defer the introduction of the Fire & Emergency Services Levy. In March, the Treasurer introduced the Fire and Emergency Services Levy Bill 2017, which shifted the funding onus for emergency services from insurers to land owners.
Under the old scheme, emergency services were funded by a levy on insurers, who passed the cost on to consumers by way of higher premiums for home and contents insurance. As a result of these high premiums, NSW was the most underinsured state in Australia. The reform, which was scheduled to come into effect from 1 July 2017, would have replaced this insurer-based system with a levy on all landowners, collected as part of council rates.
However, the Government conceded this week that Treasury’s modelling of the cost of the new levy was flawed. While a majority of insured landowners would have been better off under the reforms, some business owners would have ended up paying significantly more. As a result, the Government has committed to reviewing the policy and consulting with councils, emergency services, and the insurance industry. In the meantime, funding will continue to be generated via the old insurer-based model.
Government rolls out live Opal travel app
In less controversial news, Minister for Transport Andrew Constance announced the launch of a new Opal Travel app on Tuesday, featuring live journey updates and service disruptions. It’s worth reading the media release about the new app if for no other reason than to see its title, which somehow manages to tie Opal cards to the Spice Girls…
B-Line bus route extended to Newport
Later on Tuesday, Minister Constance was joined by Member for Pittwater Rob Stokes and Member for Manly James Griffin to announce that the Northern Beaches B-Line service will now operate between Sydney’s CBD and Newport. The double-decker bus service was originally only intended to run as far as Mona Vale. The B-Line is scheduled to begin operating later this year, with buses running every 10 minutes between Newport and the CBD and every five minutes between Mona Vale and the city during peak periods. A number of other changes to Northern Beaches bus routes have also been made, which are summarised at the link above.
Government agrees to zoning changes in southern Sydney
Finally, Tuesday saw Minister for Planning & Housing Anthony Roberts announce that the Government had approved the Georges River Council’s planning proposal. Zoning, building heights, floor space ratios, and permitted uses have all been amended by the scheme, with a view to enabling construction of more than 10,000 new homes by 2036.
Government provides greater funding for child care
On Wednesday, the Premier and Minister for Early Childhood Education Sarah Mitchell announced that not-for-profit providers of out of school care would be included in the Government’s $20 million (and rather unimaginatively named) Before and After School Care Fund. As a result, these providers will have access to up to $30,000 in funding to expand their services. More than 160 schools have drawn from the funding initiative to date.
Prison drug rehabilitation program expanded
Also on Wednesday, Minister for Corrections David Elliott announced the expansion of a drug rehabilitation program at the John Morony Correctional Complex. Double the number of inmates at the Outer Metropolitan Multi-Purpose Correctional Centre—a minimum security institution within the prison—will now have access to the substance abuse program. The program’s expansion is part of a $237 million funding package for programs aimed at improving rates of recidivism.
Major housing affordability reforms revealed
The Government kicked off Budget season this week with one of its most significant policy announcements since Premier Berejiklian took office. The Premier, Treasurer and Minister for Roberts came together on Thursday to announce a comprehensive housing affordability package, the flagship measure of which is stamp duty concessions for first home buyers.
From 1 July 2017, first home purchases valued at up to $650,000 will no longer attract any stamp duty, while purchases valued between $650,000 and $800,000 will benefit from a discounted rate. Stamp duty will also no longer be charged on lenders’ mortgage insurance, and a $10,000 grant will be available for new builds worth up to $750,000.
Other housing affordability measures include a doubling of the foreign investor surcharge—to eight per cent on stamp duty and two per cent on land tax—and $3 billion worth of funding from Government, councils and developers to increase housing supply. In addition, planning approvals for medium-density developments will be accelerated.
The package draws upon the advice of Former Reserve Bank Governor Glenn Stevens, who released a housing affordability recommendations paper on the same day. It’s worth reading, particularly the sections titled, ‘Key themes that emerged from the meetings’ and ‘Evaluation of the proposed actions’.
More information about the Government’s package can be found here. A snapshot of the reforms, including a breakdown of the stamp duty savings, can be found here. Finally, an overview of the Government’s entire housing affordability agenda can be found here.
15 new Priority Precincts created
While we’re on the topic of housing and planning, the Department of Planning & Environment announced the creation of 15 new Priority Precincts on Thursday. Each of the precincts will be the subject of their own planning review. A list of the precincts can be found here.
Details of Macquarie's Martin Place redevelopment revealed
The Government ended the week by revealing the Macquarie Group’s concept proposal for the Sydney Metro Martin Place station. The concept includes designs for new 40 storey and 28 storey office towers, as well as a new underground pedestrian concourse between existing station entrances. Macquarie made use of the Government’s unsolicited proposal pathway to seek support for the project. The Department of Planning & Environment is accepting community feedback on the project now.