16 News

The NSW Opposition is calling on the Minns Labor Government to deliver a payroll tax amnesty for NSW GPs in this year’s Budget to ensure access to affordable healthcare. 

Leader of the Opposition Mark Speakman called on Premier Chris Minns to urgently provide GPs with a payroll tax amnesty, so that clinics across NSW are not forced to close or raise their fees. 

“From 4 September, many clinics will be facing a retrospective tax bill of hundreds of thousands of dollars that could force closures or fee increases. This will mean more patients presenting to our state’s overwhelmed emergency departments, which are buckling under the pressure of Labor’s cuts to health funding,” Mr Speakman said. 

“The Minns Government should urgently guarantee a payroll tax amnesty from July 2018 to June 2025, to be followed by ongoing suitable exemptions – such as for bulk billing practices.” 

“But instead this Labor Government is again missing in action – at the same time as they’re cutting the health budget, they’re adding to the hospital waiting lists,” Mr Speakman said. 

“The NSW health system has been seriously impacted by Labor’s cuts to health funding – Bureau of Health Information figures showed that our hospital system is under immense strain as a result of Labor’s budget mismanagement. With people already waiting longer and longer in Emergency Departments, if Labor adds thousands more to that queue they’ll be putting everyone’s health at risk.” 

Shadow Finance Minister Eleni Petinos said that other states have managed to provide exemptions or amnesties, while the Minns Labor Government has been dithering for many months. 

“As some NSW clinics will face demands of retrospective payroll tax bills for more than half a million dollars, the Minns Government needs to commit to an amnesty while a permanent solution is found,” Ms Petinos said. 

“If Labor Governments in Queensland and Victoria can deal with this problem, people can rightly ask why Chris Minns can’t do the same for NSW.” 

Primary care patients and general practice in NSW will be worse off than the rest of Australia if a proposed payroll tax on GPs in enforced, the Primary Care Business Council (PCBC) has warned.
PCBC spokesperson Dr Hamish Meldrum called on the NSW Government to provide a retrospective amnesty to payroll tax to ensure GPs aren’t forced to pay years in back taxes which would bankrupt some operators.
“GP practices are paying payroll tax like any other business, and they pay this on administration staff, nurses and training doctors. However, the possible extension of payroll tax to distributions to contract GP’s will be significant and this tax will need to be passed onto patients,” Dr Meldrum said.
“The NSW Government needs to act now to ensure general practices are not unfairly burdened by a payroll tax which could threaten their very existence and result in more pressure on the public health system.”
If the GP payroll tax if applied to all distributions to contact doctors, it could result in fee increases of between $10 – $20 per appointment. “The Federal Government has supported primary care with an increased bulk billing incentive to assist GPs to bulk bill vulnerable patients. But payroll tax has the potential to reverse any gains,” Dr Meldrum said.
“It would also have the added cost of pushing more patients towards hospital emergency departments which are already over stretched.”
PCBC modelling indicates that NSW could see more than 1,000,000 more patients present to NSW emergency departments instead of visiting a GP because of increased fees. This would result in an additional annual cost of more than $680 million, which would far outweigh the revenue from payroll tax of around $130 million.
“General Practice has been poorly funded for some decades, and it makes no sense to impose a fiscally destructive tax on a primary care system that is already under strain. Doctors won’t be able to cope and ultimately it will be patients who suffer the most,” Dr Meldrum said.
“If you get sick once a year and see your GP you pay the tax once and if you are sick ten times a year and have ten GP visits then you pay the tax ten times. This is a very regressive tax.
“It is disappointing that the NSW Government has not engaged with GP operators particularly when practice viability is at risk – in the last 12 months 184 practices in 17 Public
Health Network sites closed their doors – many more will close if this tax is imposed. “I urge the NSW Government to step back from the edge and engage with the sector to ensure we have a viable General Practice sector going forward.”

A new road bridge at the centre of the Great Western Highway upgrade at Little Hartley is now open to traffic.

The 70-metre-long bridge has been built by a large cohort of local people using locally sourced materials, including concrete from Lithgow and quarry materials from Oberon.

The bridge will carry motorists up and across a new section of the highway to the local road network extending west to Jenolan Caves.

Completion of the grade-separated interchange at Coxs River Road is a milestone for the $232 million jointly funded project to improve safety and efficiency.

The new two-span bridge is 15 metres wide with a shared path for pedestrians and cyclists so active commuters can also safely cross the highway.

In total, 530 jobs will be supported by this upgrade, with work now turning to completion of the 2.4-kilometre new section of dual-lane, separated Great Western Highway.

More than 30 per cent of the entire workforce on this upgrade since work started in March 2023 are local residents from Lithgow, Bathurst and Blue Mountains LGAs, and over 30 local businesses have been engaged.

As well as the concrete and gravel, 300 tonnes of steel was used to build the road bridge, which rests on 14 precast Super T girders, which are each 34 metres long and weigh 60 tonnes.

Once asphalting and sealing of the new road is complete, the site will be landscaped.

The Coxs River Road Upgrade is on track to be completed in 2025.

For further information visit Coxs River Road Upgrade on the Transport for NSW website.

Federal Infrastructure, Transport, Regional Development and Local Government Minister Catherine King said:

“Not only is this a remarkable piece of transport infrastructure, improving safety and efficiency at this intersection, but it is a triumph of local materials and labour.

“Having the newly constructed bridge open to traffic means motorists can start to experience the benefits of our major upgrade through this section of the Great Western Highway, with more positives to come once the whole project is complete.

“Our commitment to this project is demonstrated by the recent Federal Budget commitment of $116 million, as part of providing over $3.1 billion to NSW over the next 10 years for new and existing projects.”

Federal Regional Development, Local Government and Territories Minister Kristy McBain said:

“It was fantastic to visit the Coxs River Road Upgrade recently – which will make it easier for locals and tourists to get around, and keep our freight vehicles moving efficiently.

“That’s exactly what’s happening with this new bridge now open. It will improve road safety and unlock new economic opportunities in the Central West of NSW – a fast-growing part of the state.”

NSW Regional Transport and Roads Minister Jenny Aitchison said:

“Completion of the Coxs River Road bridge is just the start of improvements to the Great Western Highway at Little Hartley.

“The new bridge is vital for ensuring the preservation of local heritage buildings whilst improving safety and reducing congestion for local, tourist and freight traffic through the valley.

“The new pedestrian access will encourage more active transport and improve safety for the local community.”

Stephen Lawrence MLC said:

“It’s wonderful to see that this project has supported our regional economy, particularly here on the western side of the Blue Mountains through employment and the use of local business.

“Supporting local people, products and services is key to leaving a positive legacy beyond the impressive new infrastructure, once crews have finished the job and packed up and left.”