8 November | NSW Budget Estimates
Budget Estimates is an important date on the NSW political calendar, providing the opposition and crossbench with an opportunity to scrutinise the NSW Government in a series of public hearings.
The hearings inquire into the expenditure, performance, and effectiveness of Ministers and NSW Government agencies, through detailed questioning on the decisions, actions, and advice of Ministers and public servants.
Taking place over the last two weeks, the Budget Estimates hearings were significant for the new Perrottet Government. They offered a snapshot of the new Government’s priorities, strengths, and potential weaknesses, as well as further details of the roadmap to recovery from the COVID-19 outbreak.
The hearings were one of the first real opportunities for incoming Premier, Dominic Perrottet, and new Deputy Premier, Paul Toole to be questioned by their political opponents since taking on their new roles. This was also the case for several other Ministers who have taken on new portfolios following the resignation of Gladys Berejiklian. These include Matt Kean in the Treasury portfolio, Stuart Ayres in Trade and Investment, and Rob Stokes in Transport and Roads.
They also provided an insight of some key areas of interest for the opposition, which could turn into key election battlegrounds over the next year in the lead-up to the March 2023 State Election.
A significant portion of the Premier’s hearing was dedicated to questions regarding his previous comments about scrapping stamp duty in NSW and replacing it with a land tax. The Premier reiterated his intention to pursue reform in this area.
Privatisation is also shaping up to be a key line of attack for the opposition in the build-up to the next election. After questions about the sale of the final 49% of WestConnex for $11.1billion, the Premier stated that he has no further privatisation in mind but declined to rule out any further sales of government assets.
The Premier was also questioned about the lack of Liberal women in his Cabinet and what he would do to address the gender imbalance in the pending cabinet reshuffle.
The opposition also took the opportunity to ask questions about the Premier’s approach to grant funding policy amid allegations of “pork-barrelling,” which has seen the Government accused of allocating funding based on what is politically advantageous.
Much of the questioning directed at the new Deputy Premier related to funding streams available in the Department of Regional NSW and what internal reviews had been undertaken to ensure they were not subject to “pork-barrelling”.
The Deputy Premier assured the committee that changes had been made to ensure funding allocations follow probity requirements and are transparent.
In a shift in position from his predecessor, the new Deputy Premier also confirmed that he would stop plans to open two areas of the Central West to coal exploration.
Another recurring theme in questions from the opposition in recent times is the NSW Government’s plan for the conservation of Koalas in NSW. Kean assured the committee that the Government would be announcing a comprehensive Koala strategy which will include habitation protection.
The Committee asked comprehensive questions around the recently announced Hydrogen Strategy. Kean ruled out the production of hydrogen through the gasification of native forest biomaterial. Kean stated that the plan will “only provide the subsidies for those people that produce green hydrogen through the electrolysis process or using waste, creating biomethane from landfill”.
Kean reaffirmed the Government’s commitment to a 50 per cent reduction in emissions by 2030 and net zero by 2050. Kean stated that based on the current policies that NSW Government have implemented, NSW is on track to hit between 47 and 52 per cent reduction in emissions by 2030. Kean clarified that the Government would introduce new policies to get to its net zero target by 2050.
The opposition’s line of questioning focussed heavily on Parramatta Light Rail Stage 2 – primarily on the construction start date. The Minister reiterated that the budget committed $50 million towards progressing the planning, with questions relating to specific project timelines such as the business case, construction date, and opening placed on notice.
In addition to the Transport and Roads hearing, the Minister was also quizzed on his Planning and Public Spaces portfolio in a separate hearing.
Questioning focussed on fast-tracked development assessments, with the Minister and his Secretary confirming that of 101 projects for fast track assessments, 98 were approved in the six months required for fast-track approval.
Affordable housing was also a hot-button issue with the Minister confirming that 40,000 housing approvals in Sydney and 60,000 state-wide per year were required to account for historical undersupply. The Minister went on to inform the Committee that in the 2020-21 financial year 54,000 dwellings were approved.
Jobs in Western Sydney were discussed at length in Minister Ayres’ hearing.
The Minister confirmed to the Committee that 80,000 jobs were lost in Western Sydney since September 2020 because of the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic.
The Minister suggested that the NSW Government’s significant investment in new transport corridors to the region, such as several new Sydney Metro lines, would help drive jobs and investment.
The $5 billion WestInvest fund announced following the government’s sale of its remaining share of WestConnex also came under scrutiny.
Opposition MPs questioned the Minister as to how the money would help drive jobs and improve amenities in Western Sydney, with the Minister confirming that guidelines for the usage of the fund were still under development.
Questions during Health Minister, Brad Hazzard’s hearing paid particular attention to COVID-19 vaccine availability, especially for children under 12 years of age. The Minister confirmed that NSW was ‘awash’ with vaccines and maintained he was positive about ATAGI approving vaccinations for children.
The Minister also confirmed that COVID-19 booster shots are beginning to be rolled out, which will likely be administered through GPs and pharmacists by ‘sometime next year.’
Hazzard also confirmed to the Committee the NSW Government’s commitment to an extra $1.1 billion in the health budget to bolster intensive care unit capacity.
The opposition pursued the subject of Teacher shortages as their focus of questioning. To meet the teacher supply issues, Minister Mitchell pointed to the possibility of fast-tracking teacher qualifications, recruiting teachers from other states and internationally, and the NSW Government’s $125 million Teacher Supply Strategy.
The disparity between regional and city schools was another focal point. The opposition pressed the point of teachers in regional schools teaching in areas outside of their knowledge and training as creating a two-tier system of education and quality. Increasing financial incentives for teachers who chose to move to rural and remote areas, rural scholarships and increasing the Rural Experience Program were points given by the Government to address some of these concerns.
Minister Lee was grilled on whether the government had plans to sell, or partially sell, 19 TAFE sites, however, he said no site would be sold unless the money would be reinvested into TAFE infrastructure.
There was a focus on investments in skills — as opposed to the more traditional academic pathways. TAFE, its record budget, and the JobTrainer program were emphasised as getting young people work ready.
The decline in the return to work rate for people on workers' compensation in NSW was branded a "dramatic failure" after the rate dropped 13 per cent since 2017, now sitting at 63 per cent.
CEO of the NSW State Insurance Regulatory Authority, Adam Dent, agreed that the alarming deterioration of the return-to-work rate is putting pressure on the financial sustainability of the scheme.
Poker machines were also in the spotlight with some pressing questions on money laundering and an increasing number of problem gamblers and the state budget's reliance on increasing poker machine revenue.
