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NSW Labor’s plan to scrap the public sector wages cap would blow an almost $9 billion black hole in the state’s budget, according to analysis from NSW Treasury.

Chris Minns will be forced to cut infrastructure projects or increase taxes to make up the shortfall given he has repeatedly said that public sector wages should keep up with inflation, otherwise they would amount to a pay cut.

Treasury analysis shows that if wage rises were in line with the current inflation forecast in the Half-Yearly Review it would blow an $8.6 billion black hole in Labor’s budget.

If NSW Labor used the latest ABS CPI indicator, it would cost $11.1 billion over four years.

Premier Dominic Perrottet said removing the wages cap and aligning wages with inflation would have disastrous consequences for the entire state.

“Our long-term economic plan will continue to provide record investments in road and rail projects that generate jobs and help future-proof our state,” Mr Perrottet said.

“The Liberal and Nationals have funded the biggest infrastructure program in NSW history because of hard fought financial management.”

Labor leader Chris Minns told media a fortnight ago: “It’s really important to know that the system that we’re bringing in New South Wales is to scrap the wages cap.”

“NSW Labor are putting our record infrastructure pipeline at risk because they have multi-billion-dollar budget black hole,” Mr Perrottet said.

“NSW Labor will need to cut metros, motorways and our cost of living relief measures to pay for their public sector wage increase.

“The NSW Labor plan to unleash public sector wages is a recipe for economic disaster that will stall our economy and take NSW backwards.”

Treasurer Matt Kean said Labor’s Daniel Mookhey had ruled out increasing borrowings and raising taxes which begged the question of how Labor would pay for its wages policy.

“As Treasurer I know the damage a multi-billion-dollar black hole would do to the budget, the economy and the opportunities for future generations – and it’s a price not worth paying,” Mr Kean said.

“If Labor is true to its word then it will have submitted its policy of CPI wage increases to the Parliamentary Budget Office and it should come clean on how it plans to fund the billions of dollars it will cost.

“If Labor has back-flipped on its promise, then it needs to be truthful and explain why. If it hasn’t, it needs to explain exactly which projects and services will be cut to meet the $8.6 billion shortfall.”

NSW public sector workers have experienced real wages growth over the past decade. The current 3 per cent cap plus an additional 0.5 per cent for productivity measures is far more generous than Labor-run Victoria.

The state’s pool of language professionals has grown substantially over the past four years thanks to the NSW Government exceeding its election commitment to fill 400 positions through the Multicultural NSW Interpreting Scholarship Program.  

Facilitated by a number of educational institutions, including TAFE NSW, University of NSW and RMIT, the program has enabled people speaking more than 50 different languages and dialects to join the NSW Government’s interpreting ranks. 

Minister for Multiculturalism Mark Coure said the Interpreting Scholarship Program empowers people to use their language skills as a career and help their communities access government information and services.

“We have seen through the latest Census data that more and more people are speaking a language other than English at home, including new and emerging languages that weren’t prominent in communities five, ten or even fifteen years ago,” Mr Coure said. 

“We have worked with various universities and TAFE NSW so the program could evolve to train those who speak these languages and have them become qualified interpreters.

“By doing this, we have been able to bolster our interpreting ranks with a greater breadth of language capabilities and ensure we have the people available to support our state’s diverse communities.”

The program’s most recent graduates include TAFE and university-trained interpreters speaking Amharic, Dari, Hazaragi, Kannada, Karen, Mongolian, Swahili and Tamil.

NSW Federation of Community Language Schools president Lucia Johns said the program was further evidence of the value of multi-lingual study.

“Language is one of NSW’s greatest cultural, social and business assets. So it cannot be ignored and must be fostered and developed. By teaching children languages at community language schools throughout the state we are protecting and guaranteeing our future linguistic skills,” Mrs Johns said.

“Children who learn a second language at community languages schools will have the option of developing a career in interpreting and translation which benefits all aspects of our society.”

Mr Coure added that the program had attracted a great mix of people of various ages across the state interested in using their language skills as a career, including from regional NSW. 

“More than 20 per cent of students participating in the program are from regional NSW, which shows our multicultural state isn’t in one city or suburb,” Mr Coure said.

“We have also had many people from refugee backgrounds use their language skills to gain employment and support their community. This year alone, 30 per cent of scholarship participants were on refugee or special humanitarian visas.

“Everyone who completes the program and attains their certification can join our expert panel of language professionals.”

Through the 2022-23 NSW Budget, $16 million was secured over two years to improve the state’s whole-of-government language service. 

“The NSW Government understands that a strong and robust language service is key to a future without barriers for diverse communities, and ensure no one is restricted in accessing information or services because of the language they speak,” Mr Coure said. 

For more information about the Multicultural NSW Interpreting Scholarship Program, visit multicultural.nsw.gov.au.  

Languages Spoken by Scholarship Students
Amharic	Filipino	Kurdish- Kurmanji	Thai
Arabic	Greek	Macedonian	Tibetan
Arabic/Sudanese	Hakha Chin	Malayalam	Tigrinya
Assyrian	Hazaragi	Mongolian	Tongan
Burmese	Hmong	Nepali	Turkish
Chaldean	Hungarian	Persian	Twi
Chinese Hakka	Igbo	Portuguese	Ukrainian
Chinese-Chiu Chow	Indonesian	Samoan	Urdu
Cook Islands Maori	Italian	Serbian	Uyghur
Creole	Kannada	Somali	Vietnamese
Dari	Karen	Spanish	Zomi Chin
Dinka	Khmer	Swahili
Ewe	Kinyarwanda	Tamil
Fiji Hindi	Kirundi	Telugu
Fijian	Krio	Temne

The NSW Liberal and Nationals Government’s $855 million Bonnyrigg Renewal Project is moving into its next delivery phase in stages 8 to 11, following the appointment of a development partner to deliver 275 more homes including 65 new social homes for Western Sydney.

Minister for Planning and Minister for Homes Anthony Roberts said 702 dwellings, including 256 social homes had already been completed in earlier stages 1 to 7 of the state-significant urban renewal project.

“This is an ambitious project that is transforming the former Bonnyrigg social housing estate in Western Sydney to become a vibrant, mixed-tenure precinct, by taking 833 ageing social properties and creating 3,000 new homes for residents, 900 of which are dedicated for social housing,” Mr Roberts said.

Minister for Families and Communities and Minister for Disability Services Natasha Maclaren-Jones said the NSW Liberal and Nationals Government is committed to creating secure communities for the state’s most vulnerable.

“We are not only investing in housing where it’s needed most, but we’re creating a safe place for people to live and work. This precinct is providing more than just a roof over people’s head, it is providing a new community centre, open space, and town centre with a village green so residents can thrive,” Mrs Maclaren-Jones said. 

The project also makes great use of the existing Parramatta to Liverpool rapid bus transitway that is nearby.

Following a competitive procurement process to the market, the NSW Land and Housing Corporation (LAHC) has appointed Sydney-based developer Traders In Purple to deliver these next stages of the Bonnyrigg Renewal project.

LAHC Chief Executive Simon Newport said the Bonnyrigg Renewal displays how partnerships can deliver more homes for the community.

“We were able to secure $26.4 million of Commonwealth funding through the National Housing Infrastructure Fund, which unlocks critical infrastructure such as improvements to the road network that are crucial to delivering this type of project,” Mr Newport said.

“When all levels of government, community housing providers and industry come to the table with a shared vision to deliver more and better homes for the people who need it most, we can achieve great things and the transformation underway at Bonnyrigg is a shining example of that.”

As part of the earlier stages of the renewal project, Landcom has also managed the construction and completion of a $7 million 841 square metre community centre, using funds from LAHC under its voluntary planning agreement with Fairfield City Council.

Fairfield City Council Mayor Frank Carbone said the new community centre will be called The Hub @ Bonnyrigg (Dhanawi) and it will become a central focal point for all aspects of community life for local residents, with a large hall for social and cultural activities, meeting rooms, a kitchen and play areas for children. Council will own and manage the new facility moving forwards.

“The Hub @ Bonnyrigg (Dhanawi) will allow people to come together to meet and celebrate, with fully accessible facilities and a community garden. We are proud to have worked together with LAHC to design and deliver this facility for our community,” Mr Carbone said.

The transformation of the Bonnyrigg Estate is a major 30-year project that will be delivered over 18 stages, creating 4,275 jobs and delivering homes for more than 9,000 residents.

Works on the latest stage of the development are set to commence in April 2023.

For more information, please visit www.dpie.nsw.gov.au/land-and-housing-corporation/greater-sydney/bonnyrigg-estate

A new pedestrian and cycling bridge will be built over the Manly Lagoon in Queenscliff after securing $3.95 million in funding from the Liberals and Nationals Government. 

Minister for Active Transport Rob Stokes said the investment would make it safer to walk and cycle around the Northern Beaches, delivering on the aims of the NSW Government’s Active Transport Strategy.

“The unprecedented funding commitment for walking and cycling by the Liberals and Nationals Government’s is all about making it easier for local families to move around, and this investment will have a transformative impact,” Mr Stokes said.

“This funding will allow for the construction of a new four-metre wide shared pedestrian and cycling bridge alongside Pittwater Road, delivering on our Strategic Cycleway Corridors plans for the Eastern Harbour City.”

Member for Manly James Griffin said the new bridge delivers on longstanding calls from the local community for this project, delivering a win for the people of Manly.

“This project resolves a significant chokepoint in our local walking and cycling network. Whether you’re riding to Manly Wharf as part of your daily commute or enjoying our beautiful coastline on the weekend, this investment will make a world of difference to the everyday needs of our local community,” Mr Griffin said.

“We know that the biggest barrier to people taking up cycling is concerns about riding on the road, so this project will encourage more people to leave the car at home and save on the household budget.”

Construction on the bridge is expected to begin mid-2024 following detailed design. The investment is part of the Liberals and Nationals’ record $950 million investment in active transport across NSW, transforming local communities and making every day better and easier for families.

For more information about the Get NSW Active program, go to: Get NSW Active | Transport for NSW.

Sydney will have its own high line to rival Paris and New York, with a re-elected NSW Liberals and Nationals Government committing to transform the rail corridor from Lavender Bay to Waverton into a new public space with sweeping views of the world’s best harbour.

The Lavender Bay high line project would start with a 300 square metre expansion of Wendy’s Secret Garden, followed by a strategic business case to canvas options for converting the 3.3-kilometre-long disused rail corridor along the Milsons Point foreshore.

Premier Dominic Perrottet said the project would return the Milsons Point foreshore to the local community as a spectacular harbour front attraction.

“Sydney is home the world’s most beautiful harbour, but for many years much of the foreshore has been left underutilised or inaccessible to the public,” Mr Perrottet said.

“We have made it a priority to transform our foreshore precincts so that Sydneysiders can make the most of the city they call home.

“The Lavender Bay high line project will unlock another part of our city that has been hidden away for more than a century, transforming it into a beautiful public space and no doubt a tourism drawcard.”

Minister for Infrastructure, Cities and Active Transport Rob Stokes said this commitment to delivering the community’s vision would create a world-class linear park and walking trail linking other public spaces in North Sydney.

“Once fully realised, this vision will result in a 3.3 kilometre linear park connecting some of Sydney’s most iconic landmarks including the Sydney Harbour Bridge and Luna Park while traversing public spaces like Wendy’s Secret Garden, Ball’s Head Reserve and Lavender Bay Parklands,” Mr Stokes said.

“We’ve committed to working with the community, including the Sydney Harbour High Line Association and Wendy’s Secret Garden volunteers to turn the vision into reality, starting with new landscaping, weed eradication and new tree plantings.”

Member for North Shore Felicity Wilson applauded the local community for their vision and pursuit of the high line, working alongside her to build on the legacy of Wendy Whiteley and the Secret Garden volunteers to expand public space from railway land.

“We get to call the most beautiful harbour in the world home – and our community has championed a transformation that will ensure visitors from across Sydney and the globe get to share in this iconic location,” Ms Wilson said.

“At a time where our cities are growing and more of us are calling apartments home, the shared vision of the Sydney Harbour High Line Association and the NSW Liberals and Nationals will ensure we retain beautiful places with the open space and active transport we need.”

Transport for NSW and North Sydney Council will work together to facilitate the use of the Land by Council for community use as public open space and active transport connections.

The Lavender Bay Rail Corridor Delivery Group will include representatives from Council. TAHE, Sydney Trains, Transport for NSW and the Sydney Harbour High Line Association.