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Thousands of businesses across the state are set to receive a boost after one of the most challenging times in recent history as the NSW Small Business Month launches tomorrow.
Premier Gladys Berejiklian said the NSW Government initiative is the fourth annual NSW Small Business Month, which will include hundreds of free and low-cost activities across NSW and provides a chance for businesses to reboot, connect and recover.
“Business communities have faced unprecedented challenges in 2020, with drought, bushfires, floods and now COVID-19,” Ms Berejiklian said.
“NSW Small Business Month is an opportunity to celebrate our small business owners, their valuable contributions to our local communities and their resilience. We also want to focus on ways to reboot and look at ways of doing business differently to get ahead.”
This year’s NSW Small Business Month will build on the success of the past three years by collaborating with 219 local councils and chambers of commerce, as well as over 180 festival partners, across the state.
Minister for Finance and Small Business Damien Tudehope said NSW Small Business Month included a mix of online and face-to-face COVID Safe events providing a chance to connect with other businesses and agencies.
“NSW is home to more than 785,000 small businesses who make a valuable contribution; they make up 97.5 per cent of businesses in NSW and employ more than 41 per cent of the private sector workforce,” Mr Tudehope said.
“Up to $640,000 in funding was made available this year with 93 councils and 126 local chambers of commerce receiving grants to host COVID-Safe events.”
The events cover a range of innovative and diverse topics including leveraging social media and getting your brand online.
The launch event at 10am on Thursday, 1 October will be a live webcast with a top line-up of Government and business experts, including Facebook, NAB and ATO executives. For further information, visit businessmonth.nsw.gov.au

A trial to provide public schools in regional NSW with more casual teachers will begin in Term 1, 2021.
Minister for Education Sarah Mitchell said the trials, using two pilot programs, aim to bring more teachers to regional NSW.
“It can be difficult to attract and retain teachers in rural and remote areas for a number of reasons including travel distances, lack of suitable accommodation close to schools and limited opportunities for teachers to access professional learning,” Ms Mitchell said.
“The hub and spoke pilot provides two teachers, employed in a ‘hub’ school, who can also address the needs of nearby ‘spoke’ schools.
“Through this pilot, up to 12 teachers will be employed and will be able to be deployed quickly to a nearby spoke school to cover classes.
“It will also provide certainty to casual teachers, knowing they have a permanent position.”
The program targets schools with the greatest reported shortages and grouping them in travel distance clusters to reduce average commuting times to less than an hour.
The in-built relief model first piloted in 2019, will be extended to a carefully selected number of schools from Term 3, 2020.
“One temporary teacher will be embedded in each school to provide relief when permanent teachers are unavailable due to professional development or illness.”
The trials will improve the proposition of working in rural or remote schools by:

• reducing commuting time; and,
• offering longer engagements,
• offering temporary or permanent appointments that include leave and other benefits,
• providing employment certainty,
• investing in professional development and learning for these teachers.

NSW Labor have obtained documents that reveal the NSW Liberals and NSW Nationals used around $400 million in grants as a slush fund to buy votes.
The Stronger Country Communities Fund (SCCF) was designed to fund projects throughout regional and rural NSW, however, analysis shows funding decisions were based more on political self-interest rather than the best interests of the community.
About 1550 projects received funding under rounds one, two and three, with more than 80 per cent of those located in electorates held by Coalition MPs.
In rounds one and two – announced prior to the 2019 NSW election – more than 87 per cent of grants were allocated to seats held by Coalition MPs, while projects that were clearly allocated in Labor-held seats accounted for less than four per cent.
It is unclear where some projects in council areas crossing multiple electorates were located.
$100 million worth of funds was distributed during rounds one and three, with $200 million being distributed in round two – just months before the 2019 state election.
NSW Labor Leader Jodi McKay said it was blatantly obvious the SCCF was not to assist communities throughout rural and regional NSW: “This was designed to buy the last election.”
“This taxpayers money. It is not the Liberal-National Parties’ slush fund.
“We should not normalise this type of behaviour,” she said.
Four of the largest grants in round two went to marginal seats, two to fairly safe Coalition seats, one to a National seat with changing members, one to a safe Nationals seat and one to a safe Labor seat.
The largest of all three round– a grant worth more than $3 million in round two – went to Snowy Monaro Regional Council, located in the marginal seat of NSW Nationals leader John Barilaro.
An NSW Parliament Upper House inquiry examining the NSW Liberals and NSW Nationals distribution of funds as part of certain grants, will begin on Monday, September 21. Shadow Minister for Local Government, Greg Warren, said the SCCF revelations were just the tip of the iceberg.
“The Berejiklian-Barilaro Government were elected to represent the entire state – not just areas that suited their own political agenda.”
“These were public funds meant to benefit the public – not to bolster the NSW Liberals and NSW National re-election prospects,” Mr Warren said.

Labor is welcoming the establishment of a Parliamentary Inquiry it called for into rural and regional health in NSW.
The expansive probe will consider:

• Health outcomes for people living in rural, regional and remote NSW
• Access and availability of services
• Planning systems
• Capital and recurrent health expenditure
• Staffing challenges and allocations

NSW Labor Leader Jodi McKay said a Parliamentary Inquiry is desperately needed and long overdue.
“Health outcomes should not be determined by postcodes. We need to do much better for families living in regional NSW,” Ms McKay said.
“This is about equality, fairness and a fundamental right to healthcare. The state of healthcare across rural and regional communities is appalling. It’s systemic crisis that must be addressed now.”
Labor first called for an urgent inquiry into rural and regional health in October last year after a death at Tenterfield Hospital was reportedly linked to a lack of clinical resources.
Since then, the significant disparity in health outcomes between the city and country areas was laid bare in data from the Public Health Information Development Unit.
The analysis shows:

• Avoidable deaths can be twice as likely in rural and regional communities when compared to cities
• The median age of death for those in Sydney (79) is more than a decade higher than residents in our most remote communities (66)
• The highest rates of preventable hospitalisation and preventable chronic disease are in regional and rural areas

The Shadow Minister for Health Ryan Park said: “It’s no secret rural and regional hospitals are overstretched and under resourced. The health system can’t cope with the growing cuts and cost blowouts from the Liberals and Nationals. I hope this Parliamentary Inquiry is the wake up call the Government needs to address the dysfunctional state of rural and regional health in NSW.”
The Shadow Minister for Rural Health Kate Washington said: “Doctors and healthcare workers across regional and rural NSW have gone above and beyond to do the best they can with what they have. But the reality is, there’s a severe lack of funding and shocking staff shortages. After nine years in Government, the Liberals and Nationals are responsible for this mess.”
The Government has continued to spruik hospital upgrades but an Auditor-General’s inquiry revealed at least three regional projects are already over budget or with missed deadlines. There have been $2.2 billion blowouts in health and hospital projects including at the Dubbo and Macksville Hospitals.
A 60 Minutes investigation on Sunday exposed the dire situation across rural and regional hospitals. The program investigated a pattern of incidents and failings all over the State.
A growing number of regional and rural health practitioners have also spoken out about the unprecedented challenges they’re grappling with amid the COVID-19 pandemic, including staff shortages and limited ICU capacity.

A Parliamentary Inquiry has heard the Premier approved a $90 million taxpayer-funded grant for a Liberal electorate in Sydney’s north. The grant for Hornsby Shire Council was finalised within 24 hours of the Council being notified it was eligible.
The Office of Local Government chief executive Tim Hurst said his agency held no record of a written, signed approval for the project from the Premier. The Stronger Communities Fund payment for Hornsby Shire Council was approved via an email from Premier Gladys Berejiklian’s office.
Two other eligible applicants were not aware the fund existed.
NSW Labor has slammed the Government’s handling of the $250 million Fund which was supposed to support forcibly-amalgamated councils.
The Inquiry heard 95% of the money went to Councils in or near seats held by Liberal or Nationals MPs, and that the decisions were approved by either the Premier, Deputy Premier or the Local Government Minister.
NSW Labor Leader Jodi McKay said: “This Stronger Communities Fund was a quarter of a billion dollars. 95% of that went to Liberal and National seats. How is that appropriate?”
Canterbury-Bankstown Mayor Khal Asfour told the Inquiry he contacted former Local Government Minister Gabrielle Upton in July 2018 about potential funds for merged Councils. He was informed there were no State Government funds available.
In contrast, Hornsby Shire Council General Manager Steven Head said was notified by the Office of Local Government chief executive, Tim Hurst, around 5pm on 27 June 2018, informing him funds under the Stronger Communities Fund – Tied Grants were available. Their grant was finalised the following day.
Ms McKay said: “This Inquiry is incredibly important to get to the bottom of what’s been happening with grant distribution across NSW. These programs should be fair and based on merit.”
“We support grant programs to help communities across a range of portfolios but we know some are being mismanaged.
“Tax payers should have confidence that decisions are fair and transparent, not politically driven.”
Shadow Minister for Local Government, Greg Warren, said the Stronger Communities Fund – Tied Grants program was a farce.
“This was a taxpayer-funded Government slush fund,” Mr Warren said.
“Not only were councils like Canterbury-Bankstown and Inner West denied access to the program, they were actually told there was no State Government funding available when clearly there was.
“Make no mistake, this fund was a rort.”
The Inquiry into Integrity, Efficacy and Value for Money of NSW Government Grant Programs will continue on Friday, October 16.

NSW Labor have condemned the Government for selling more than $3.7 billion worth of public assets in Western Sydney over a five-year period, while giving next to nothing back.
Documents obtained via Freedom of Information have revealed in the 2015/16, 2016/17, 2017/18, 2018/19 and 2019/20 financial years, an incredible 4428 state government-owned properties were sold in the region.
Western Sydney – the fastest growing region in the state – has been plagued by problems resulting from a lack of infrastructure since the NSW Liberals came to power in 2011.
Wait times in the region’s hospital emergency departments continue to blow out and schools continue to fill beyond capacity, while public transport is predictably unreliable and sub-standard.
NSW Labor Leader Jodi McKay condemned the privatisation-happy Government’s treatment of Western Sydney residents.
“The Government has sold electricity assets, ports, the desalination plant, the New South Wales Land and Property Information and part of the Westconnex. Enough is enough,” Ms McKay said.
“As we’ve seen in the past, sell-offs result in job losses especially in rural and regional areas. We need to put an end to this privatisation madness, especially as the state struggles through recession and high unemployment.”
Shadow Minister for Western Sydney and the Member for Campbelltown, Greg Warren, said this was proof of the NSW Liberals disdain for the people of Western Sydney.
“When it comes to Western Sydney, this Government take, take and take – but when it comes time to give something back, their keep their hands stuffed in the cash-filled pockets,” Mr Warren said.
“Almost $4 billion worth of Western Sydney public assets have been flogged off by this mob and what have Western Sydney residents got to show for it?
“The short answer is very little.
“This Government has sold off and sold out Western Sydney.”