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The NSW Government is ordering Hornsby Shire Council to repay $36 million that was provided under the Stronger Communities Fund, a fund that the Auditor General of NSW has described as “deficient” and “lacking integrity”.

The grant program was established in 2017 to support council amalgamations.

However, under the former government, 96% of grants were awarded to Coalition electorates, including to councils that never actually merged, like Hornsby Shire Council.

As part of this fund, in 2018, the former government awarded a $40 million grant in Round 2 of the Stronger Communities Fund for Hornsby Shire Council’s Westleigh Park project.

Since then, there have been significant delays in the delivery of the project and limited progress has been demonstrated, with most of the grant money yet to be spent.  

The NSW Government has therefore refused a request from Hornsby Council for an extension of time to utilise the unspent funds.

The Council will be required to pay back all unspent funds from the original $40 million grant, estimated to be more $36 million based on the latest report from Council.

This decision is based on recommendations from an independent inter-agency panel that assessed all council applications for variations to projects funded through the Liberal-Nationals Stronger Communities Fund.  

The Office of Local Government received 16 applications for variations from 10 councils.  

Of these, 12 have been approved. These councils asking for extensions of time have demonstrated that their projects are on-track.

Three requests were refused, including Hornsby’s request regarding the Westleigh Park project.  

The other two refusals included Federation Council, which requested permission to reallocate $83,889 remaining from a grant of $5.4 million to other projects, which is not permitted under the grant guidelines.  

Edward River Council also had a request to reallocate $10,000 in funding refused.  

A separate request from Hornsby Council for an extension of time to utilise a $50 million grant provided for its Hornsby Quarry project has been approved as construction has progressed significantly.  

Additionally, a request from Snowy Monaro Council regarding the delivery of a community centre funded by a grant of $200,000 will be reviewed further.  

Murray River Council also offered to voluntarily repay $131,147 in unspent funds from an almost $1.2 million grant it received in 2018.

Minister for Local Government, Ron Hoenig:

“The former Liberal-National government’s Stronger Communities Fund has been exposed as one of the most egregious examples of pork barrelling.    

“The fund was originally established to support councils which had been forcibly merged by the former government, yet Hornsby Shire Council received $90 million despite not being one of the amalgamated councils.  

“At a time when we are facing a cost-of-living crisis, every dollar counts.  

“Hornsby Council has had years to utilise this funding and the original deadline written into the grant guidelines has long passed.

“Where councils have not demonstrated sufficient progress on projects that received grant funding, the government will be recouping this money and ensuring it is reinvested where it’s needed most.”    

The Minns Labor Government is investing $274 million to boost staffing at new and upgraded hospitals across the state that were left without adequate staff by the previous government, as part of the 2024-25 NSW Budget.  

The Essential Health Services Fund will see an additional 250 healthcare workers engaged to work at these new and upgraded hospitals.  

The additional staff will be deployed at hospitals due to come online in the next financial year and will deliver additional services to communities with growing and aging populations.

These include Prince of Wales and the new Tweed Hospital, as well as Bowral, Sutherland, Wentworth, Cowra, Cooma, Glenn Innes and Griffith.    

Additional staff for Prince of Wales Hospital will support the new emergency department, intensive care unit and broader expansion of the hospital.  

The newly-opened Tweed Hospital will receive additional health workers to deliver an expansion of overnight and day beds as well as an increase of emergency department and outpatient services.  

Funding will also be provided across the state to increased demands from health services resulting from an ageing and growing population.

This investment will further the NSW Government’s existing initiatives to build an engaged, capable and supported workforce through:

• beginning to implement safe staffing levels,
• making 1112 temporary nurses permanent,
• delivering an extra 500 regional paramedics
• abolishing the wages cap; and
• introducing health worker study subsidies.
   

This is all part of the Minns Government’s plan to build a strong health workforce and improve access to quality care across the state.  

Minister for Health Ryan Park said:

“I’ve always said that there’s no point in delivering shiny new buildings if you don’t have the staff to adequately run them.  

“We can’t risk the situation left to us by the previous government of ‘ghost hospitals’ where funding was allocated for the bricks and mortar but not the additional health workers, nurses and doctors to operationalise services.

“For too long, the previous government underinvested in our health workers, and that left a workforce pushed to breaking point, and that had significant impacts that we still continue to see to this day.  

“We need a fully-staffed healthcare system that is responsive and well-resourced, because when we back in our health workers, we improve patient outcomes, and that’s exactly what we’re doing.” 

The NSW Government will work with private health insurers to ensure the correct payments are being made to public hospitals under reforms in the upcoming NSW Budget.

The NSW Government will work with private health insurers to ensure the correct payments are being made to public hospitals under reforms in the upcoming NSW Budget.

Under existing arrangements, some private health insurers are only paying half the daily cost of a bed rate for a private patient. The cost of this is borne directly by NSW Health.

This means almost $150 million was denied last year alone in private health insurance funds that should have gone back into the NSW health system to help pay for the services being provided.

With increasing pressure for healthcare services and record investment by the Minns Labor Government in the health system, these arrangements are unsustainable, and a reformed payment arrangement will ensure insurers pay their fair share of costs.

The government is prepared to give the industry 6 months to change its arrangements and contribute its fair share to the public hospital system – and appreciates the constructive engagement with private health insurers so far.

Treasurer Daniel Mookhey said:

“Every dollar that private insurers are not paying is being picked up by taxpayers, and that comes at the expense of other investments NSW should be making.

“There are some private health funds that are paying the right rate, particularly the non-profit private health funds that look after our teachers and our nurses. That is right – it should be a level playing field for all.

“It’s good that underpaying funds are now at the table but we’re clear that we need this problem solved.  We’ve got about 6 months to sort it out but otherwise we are going to have to take action to ensure that these funds are paying their bills.”

Minister for Health, Ryan Park said:

“Our public hospitals are busier than ever before, and every dollar counts when it comes to investing in the essential health services that our communities deserve.

“I look forward to working with private health insurers to ensure funds are paying their fair share of public hospital costs.”

Disaster assistance is now available in the Camden, Kiama, Shellharbour, Shoalhaven, Wingecarribee and Wollongong Local Government Areas (LGAs) following the impact of flooding from 6 June 2024.

The assistance measures are being provided by the Australian and New South Wales Governments through the Commonwealth-State Disaster Recovery Funding Arrangements (DRFA).

Support includes:

• Assistance for eligible residents to help meet immediate needs like emergency accommodation or small cash payments to purchase essential items generally provided from evacuation or recovery centres.
• Grants for eligible residents to replace lost essential household items to maintain basic standard of living.
• Grants for eligible residents to undertake essential structural repairs to restore their homes to a safe and habitable condition.
• Support for affected local councils to help with the costs of cleaning up and restoring damaged essential public assets.
• Concessional interest rate loans for small businesses, primary producers, and non-profit organisations and grants to sporting and recreation clubs to repair or replace damaged or destroyed property.
• Freight subsidies for primary producers to help transport livestock and fodder.

Federal Minister for Emergency Management, Senator the Honourable Murray Watt said the extent of the flooding impact is still being assessed.

“This event has caused widespread damage across communities, with flash flooding closing roads, cutting off communities and inundating homes,” Minister Watt said.

“The NSW Government is continuing to assess the situation and is adapting as we gain a clearer picture of the impact of this disaster, and the Australian Government stands ready to respond to any requests for assistance.”

NSW Minister for Emergency Services Jihad Dib said the NSW SES are out on the ground assessing damage and assisting communities.

“While the work continues to assess the impacts of these storms and floods, the NSW Government is working with the Australian Government to unlock assistance for communities that need help now,” Minister Dib said.

“Thank you to the NSW SES and all volunteers who have been working night and day to respond to this severe weather event.”

“We’re supporting these communities to recover from this severe weather event, given many were also impacted in April this year.”

Find information relating to financial assistance, replacing lost documents and other recovery support.

To apply for a concessional loan or primary producer grant, contact the NSW Rural Assistance Authority on 1800 678 593

Further information on disaster assistance can be found on the Australian Government’s Disaster Assist website.

Patients, paramedics, and emergency department staff will benefit from a $15.1 million nation-leading upgrade to the ambulance patient allocation matrix system which will help identify the most appropriate emergency department (ED) for patients to be transferred to.

Funded in the 2024-25 NSW Budget, the ambulance matrix is a dashboard that draws on live hospital data to help paramedics determine the nearest, most clinically appropriate ED for all patients arriving to a NSW hospital by ambulance.

The new matrix, known as the “NewGen Matrix”, will now be able to take into account capacity at nearby EDs, the patient’s clinical condition and travel times.

This means the system will assist paramedics in taking a patient to where they can be seen the quickest, not just the closest location.

More than 2000 patients who arrive to an ED by NSW Ambulance per year are also expected to avoid a secondary hospital transfer under the new dynamic matrix.

The current ambulance matrix is almost two decades old and relies on limited, static data inputs that means paramedics do not have visibility of potential delays at emergency departments.

The $15.1 million investment over 4 years will support the rollout across both metropolitan and rural NSW which is expected to commence late 2025.

This new matrix is part of the NSW Government’s ED relief package of more than $480 million over 4 years to further ease pressure on the state’s busy emergency departments.

The ED Relief Package will help avoid an estimated 300,000 visits to the ED each year, improving conditions for our hardworking frontline healthcare staff and connecting more people across NSW with high quality, accessible and timely care.

This is part of the NSW Government’s plan to build a strong health care system and ensure that every person can access the essential services they need.

Premier Chris Minns said:

“I’ve said it before – people are waiting too long to be seen in emergency departments.

“This is an important investment that will help our hardworking frontline staff deliver the care that people deserve, faster.”

Minister for Health Ryan Park said:

“Our hardworking paramedics and healthcare staff are currently under immense pressure with a record number of ambulance responses and ED presentations to our hospitals.

“This necessary upgrade will contribute to a range of initiatives in our ED Relief Package designed to improve patient flow across the system.

“This investment is about equipping our highly skilled paramedics with the latest tech to make their job easier and, importantly, ensure patients receive the most clinically appropriate care in a timely manner.

“This critical upgrade to the ambulance matrix will integrate live data from right across our public health system in real time to help paramedics transport patients to the ED that will be able to treat them as quickly and appropriately as possible.”

The Minns Labor Government will begin the work of setting up an internal medical locum agency to address the growing cost of attracting medical locums to regional areas.

Locums are medical officers engaged to fill a temporary vacancy – most commonly used to address worker shortages in the regions and engaged through staff hire agencies.

In 2022-23, agency commissions for locum doctors represented around $37 million, up from $20 million in 2020-21.

COVID-19 was a major factor in driving up costs. As staff availability tightened, so too did the need to source additional staff through agencies.

But the NSW Government is committed to bringing and keeping down the cost of external commission fees.

$6.3 million in the 2024-25 NSW Budget, will examine the feasibility of a NSW Health Locum Agency, including how it would work and how much money could be saved as a result.

This announcement builds on the work of the NSW Government to improve access to care in regional, rural and remote communities, including:

• doubling rural health incentives for critical vacancies in hardest to fill roles
• boosting doctors in regional GP surgeries as well as hospitals through the Single Employer Model
• rolling out key worker accommodation, and
• delivering an extra 500 regional paramedics.

NSW Treasurer Daniel Mookhey:

“This is a must-have investment in the health of regional and remote communities.

“Building an in-house agency means we can drive down rising external fees and put more money back into the health workforce.

“This $6.3 million investment marks another step in the Minns Labor Government’s pledge to build a better health system for everyone in NSW.

“We can afford this policy. Because we cut the state’s debt, we have cut the state’s interest bill.  And we can use that money to make a difference to the health outcomes of people in regional and remote NSW.”

Minister for Health Ryan Park:

“Locums and other contingent workforce are important features of our health system to enable it to remain agile, and to scale up and down as needed.

“But I’ve always said that I am determined to see more of our health spending flow directly to our clinicians, and I think that’s a very reasonable community expectation.

“The Government is focusing on strategies to address the growing cost of this service, and the proposed internal agency will help to lower external fees across the state. It will also allow medical locums to trust us to place them in our hospitals.

“Our rural and regional health staff have strong connections to the communities they live in. We acknowledge and greatly appreciate their commitment to delivering exceptional care to the people they serve.”

The Minns Labor Government will invest $3.4 billion in 2024-25 to upgrade hospitals and health facilities across the state as part of the 2024-25 NSW Budget ensuring patients continue to receive high-quality care in their local community.
 

Of this, nearly $1 billion will be allocated towards rural and regional health capital works projects, and over half a billion towards Western Sydney hospitals in 2024-25 alone.

The NSW Government will also invest a further $47.8 million in the upgraded Ryde Hospital, bringing the total investment in the Ryde Hospital redevelopment to $526.8 million.

This investment will deliver expanded and upgraded health services for Ryde and surrounding communities, which will include a new emergency department, inpatient wards and cutting-edge imaging and diagnostic services.

Key new investments in the 2024-25 NSW Budget include:

• hundreds of millions of dollars in additional funding to deliver ongoing hospital redevelopments at Eurobodalla, Temora, Liverpool, Integrated Mental Health Complex at Westmead, Moree, Nepean, Cessnock and Shellharbour Hospitals
• $265 million for the upgrade of Port Macquarie Hospital to provide a greater range of clinical services, including emergency and maternity services for the communities of the Mid North Coast
• $250 million in a critical maintenance program at hospitals and health facilities across NSW.

This funding boost will improve access to high-quality health care, by delivering much-needed upgraded health infrastructure and technology, in particular, focusing on the parts of the state that need it most.

NSW needs a coordinated and sustainable roadmap for future growth, with the necessary infrastructure built alongside housing, to enable and support healthier and well-serviced communities.

The budget will prioritise building better communities for NSW – ensuring we have the right level of health infrastructure and health service to improve the lives and wellbeing all communities across NSW.

The NSW Government is committed to continuing to build on our previous investments in important infrastructure projects for the state, including upgrading and maintaining essential health services, to provide residents with the safest and high-quality health care service they deserve to improve their wellbeing.

Health Minister Ryan Park said:

“Our health system faces significant challenges after 12 years of neglect by the Liberal and National government, but we are making the diligent decision to invest in critical health infrastructure to ensure we have the essential health services the people of NSW rely on.

“By investing in critical health infrastructure, we will deliver on our promise to provide better healthcare in NSW by expanding health services in these growing communities, so patients can access the best medical treatments close to home.

“These infrastructure projects and the range of health services that will be provided from them by our committed and caring health staff will also help attract more healthcare workers to work in these modern and purpose-built health care facilities across NSW.

“In addition, the jobs that are generated as a result of the opportunities available to builders, tradies and apprentices during the construction phase of all these major health infrastructure projects, is also a valuable economic driver in many of our local communities across the state.”

Hundreds of public schools across metropolitan and regional NSW will benefit from improved facilities following a billion-dollar boost for maintenance and minor upgrades.

The investment in our schools is part of the NSW Labor Government’s long-term plan to rebuild the state’s education system.

Deputy Premier and Minister for Education and Early Learning Prue Car, and Treasurer Daniel Mookhey, are today visiting Bonnyrigg High School, one of the schools to benefit from the funding injection.

As part of the 2024 to 2025 NSW Budget, following years of campaigning, the school will receive an upgrade to its bathrooms. Planning for the improvements will start in coming weeks, in consultation with the school.

A record $1.08 billion pipeline of investment for minor works in the coming financial year alone will support the delivery of $600 million for school maintenance work, alongside $150 million in essential works to boost disability access and safety, and $200 million for small upgrades and refurbishments.

Projects will focus on lifting standards of important facilities, particularly school bathrooms, as well as improving classrooms, science labs, workshops, performance and arts spaces and vocational education and training (VET) facilities.

Maintenance work in schools includes:

• painting 
• repairs and replacements of roofs, fences, windows, doors, ceilings, and carpeting
• electrical repairs and upgrades
• floor coverings
• continuing to support urgent repairs in schools when needed.

The Department of Education will work with principals and school leadership over coming months to prioritise projects.

The boost in investment comes as 62,000 longer-term school maintenance tasks have been carried out by the Department of Education in 2023 to 2024 so far, including maintenance works for close to 2 thirds of the state’s public schools, or 1492 schools in 6882 individual buildings.

This includes:

• more than 837,800sqm of painting, or the equivalent to painting the Sydney Harbour Bridge twice
• 332,579sqm of new roofing, or the equivalent to installing roofing on 37 Bunnings Warehouse stores
• installing 271,213sqm of new flooring – or the equivalent to covering the Penrith Panthers’ stadium field 37 times
• laying 233,537sqm of playground pavement – enough paving to cover a dual carriageway road between Sydney CBD and Parramatta.

Over the same period, the department responded to more than 155,000 callouts from public schools, with workers able to resolve issues in under 5 days on average. This includes responding to:

• 27,994 blocked toilets, leaking taps or sinks
• 32,649 electrical faults
• 10,017 air conditioning or HVAC systems.

Our plan to build a better NSW

Since being elected the Minns Labor Government has been working on a comprehensive plan to invest in and rebuild public education in NSW.

We are making the responsible decisions to ensure every family in NSW has access to free, quality public education.

This includes building new schools and upgrading existing facilities in rapidly-growing communities like those in Western Sydney, where this year’s budget delivers $3.6 billion for a pipeline of more than 60 new and upgraded schools. This includes an overdue new public and high school for Box Hill in Sydney’s North West – with a temporary public school to take enrolments from next year.

Building, maintaining and improving essential services like public schools is key to building better communities and addressing the cost of living as families find it increasingly difficult to make ends meet. It is part of our plan to build a better NSW.

Deputy Premier and Minister for Education and Early Learning Prue Car said:

“This year’s budget will strengthen our commitment to keeping our schools and equipment in the good condition that our communities deserve.

“Our public schools are the lifeblood of our communities, and we want teachers and students to feel proud to study and work in them – central to that is ensuring that they are maintained to a high standard and have the most up-to-date facilities.

“I visited Bonnyrigg High School in November last year, to see first-hand concerns about some of the school facilities. I am pleased to be here today to announce that the school will benefit from this month’s back-to-basics Budget.

“This investment will also give local economies a boost, supporting jobs and opportunities for local trades and businesses.

“We are continuing our record investment in Western Sydney schools, whether it is to build the new and upgraded schools that these communities need or upgrading our existing schools for our teachers and students.”

Treasurer Daniel Mookhey said:

“Improving the conditions of NSW schools is a must-have to ensure that students and teachers have the best environment possible to learn and teach.

“This Government is continuing to deliver on its promise to rebuild the state’s public education system.

“When I visited Bonnyrigg High School earlier this year, I heard from the staff and students about their concerns.

“This billion-dollar investment will make a material difference for 1,400 public schools and their communities.

“We have the cut state’s debt, so that we are paying less on the state’s interest bill. We are now using those savings to make a difference for schools across NSW.”

Member for Cabramatta Tri Vo said:

“It is fantastic to see Bonnyrigg High School will benefit from an upgrade to their school facilities, which has been one of a number of campaigns by the school community.

“I am proud to be part of the NSW Labor Government, who are committed to improving school buildings across NSW, so every public school student can reach their full potential.”

Member for Liverpool Charishma Kaliyanda said:

“Bonnyrigg High School has played a huge role in educating our community for generations, and it’s wonderful to see the school facilities getting an upgrade to ensure it can continue to deliver quality public education.

“Education is the great enabler for families in Western Sydney, so I’m very proud to be part of a NSW Labor Government that is delivering on its promise to ensure our young people have access to quality public education.”

The NSW Opposition is calling on the Minns Labor Government to come clean on its cuts to maintenance spending at public schools across the state. 
 
Opposition Leader Mark Speakman said the Minns Labor Government’s so-called ‘infrastructure blitz’ is providing less funding than had been allocated by the former Liberal and Nationals Government.
 
“This is just more smoke and mirrors from Labor on school infrastructure,” Mr Speakman said.

“The Treasurer’s claim of a ‘record’ $1.08 billion pipeline for maintenance and minor capital works does not stand up to scrutiny as the Coalition allocated $1.3 billion on the same types of projects in the 2022-23 Budget.
 
“This $220 million cut is a result of Premier Chris Minns losing control of the Budget, and our public schools will be worse off as a result.”
 
Shadow Education Minister Sarah Mitchell said families deserve to know what the true impact of Labor’s lies will be.  
 
“The detail of this announcement is where the shocking truth becomes apparent,” Ms Mitchell said.
 
“Labor is allocating less money for school maintenance this financial year than the former Liberal and Nationals Government because it handed the keys to the NSW Budget to the unions and is cutting expenditure across the board as a result.
 
“That means schools will have less money to spend on facilities for your kids. That’s
things like classroom and toilet upgrades, painting, carpets, fences and new windows and doors.”
 
Today’s announcement follows Labor’s decision to rip $150m out of public school budgets mid-way through the year, forcing school principals to consider cutting staff and programs to find savings.