Keeping people safe, boosting the economic recovery and creating a prosperous future through innovation, continued investment and reform is at the heart of today\u2019s 2021-22 NSW State Budget.
\nAfter the sharpest fall in nearly 80 years the NSW economy is rebounding rapidly with 300,000 jobs added since the height of the pandemic in mid-2020.
\nThe Budget forecasts above trend economic growth of 3\u00bc per cent for 2021-22 and unemployment, currently at 5 per cent, falling to 4\u00bd per cent by 2024-25.
\nImproved economic conditions have contributed to the State\u2019s strengthened operating position, with a return to surplus of $0.5 billion now forecast in 2024-25.
\nJob creation remains a key focus with a record $108.5 billion infrastructure investment helping supercharge the recovery.
\nHundreds of thousands of hard-working public sector workers will receive a significant wage increase of up to 2.5 per cent, which is forecast to cost approximately $2.7 billion over four years.
\nPremier Gladys Berejiklian said the 2021-22 Budget included important cost savings measures for families, including $43.9 million for a new $100 Learn to Swim voucher for children aged between three and six, and $150 million for the Free Preschool program to continue until the end of 2022.
\n\u201cThis is a Budget which supports and protects our families and communities through record investments in health, education and transport,\u201d Ms Berejiklian said.
\n\u201cThe biggest infrastructure pipeline in Australia now tops $108.5 billion and continues to be the backbone of our recovery, with NSW now adding more jobs than were lost during the height of the pandemic.
\n\u201cThe Government\u2019s comprehensive response to the pandemic was only possible because of the state\u2019s economic and fiscal strength going into the crisis built up over the past decade.\u201d
\nTreasurer Dominic Perrottet said the 2021-22 Budget would continue to ensure NSW was COVID-safe and at the same time lock-in the recovery and drive economic reform.
\n\u201cThe NSW Government is maintaining its commitment to support job creation and economic recovery, with billions in stimulus and support measures continuing into 2021-22\u201d Mr Perrottet said.
\n\u201cThe Budget also includes more than $6 billion in rebates, concessions and cost of living measures which benefit households across NSW.
\n\u201cOur support has been targeted to keep people safe and businesses in business, and that continues with programs such as $40 million to combat domestic violence and the $50 million CBD Friday voucher scheme.
\n\u201cWe are also investing millions into tourism, infrastructure and events right across NSW.\u201d
\nMr Perrottet said the NSW Government had released the 2021 Intergenerational Report and the NSW Productivity Commissioner\u2019s Productivity White Paper immediately prior to the Budget as they helped chart direction for the state over the longer-term.
\n\u201cThis Budget takes NSW from recovery towards reform, with a focus on your family and your future,\u201d Mr Perrottet said.
\n\u201cThe NSW Government\u2019s nation-leading Electric Vehicle Strategy will see almost half a billion dollars invested in tax cuts and incentives for this future-focussed industry.
\n\u201cReforms we have already undertaken such as the establishment of the NSW Generations Fund in late 2018 will also support future generations \u2013 the NGF has achieved particularly strong returns over the past 12 months and has grown to $14.7 billion, providing more capacity to reduce debt in the future.
\n\u201cThis Budget continues to support our broad reform agenda for the planning and education systems as well as investing in our world leading digital technologies and providing tax relief.
\n\u201cThe challenge for NSW is to continue to strive to improve, this is a Budget which invests in our people, it aims to keep NSW safe, accelerate our recovery and helps transform our state as we embark on another decade of delivery.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Keeping people safe, boosting the economic recovery and creating a prosperous future through innovation, continued investment and reform is at the heart of today\u2019s 2021-22 NSW State Budget. After the sharpest fall in nearly 80 years the NSW economy is rebounding rapidly with 300,000 jobs added since the height of the pandemic in mid-2020. The … Continue reading “NSW Budget to keep economy firing and boost jobs as recovery gathers pace”<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-11877","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-nswnews"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.16news.com.au\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/11877","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.16news.com.au\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.16news.com.au\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.16news.com.au\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.16news.com.au\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=11877"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"http:\/\/www.16news.com.au\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/11877\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.16news.com.au\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=11877"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.16news.com.au\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=11877"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.16news.com.au\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=11877"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}