The Opposition is calling out Labor\u2019s Budget blackhole lie, saying the Government is shifting blame for its broken promises, wrong priorities and public sector union wage deal cost blowout.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cThe Government is choosing to slash vital cost of living programs including Active Kids, Creative Kids and First Lap, to limit energy relief for NSW households and to risk vital infrastructure projects in order to deliver its unfunded election promises,\u201d Leader of the Opposition Mark Speakman said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cThe Labor Government has seemingly plucked a figure out of thin air, and hasn\u2019t substantiated its claim that there\u2019s a $7 billion blackhole. This is Labor\u2019s Budget blackhole \u2013 and these attempts to sheet responsibility back to the former government simply don\u2019t pass the test.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cThe cause of Labor\u2019s Budget blackhole is it\u2019s unfunded public sector wages deal. Before the election Labor said that any public sector wage increase would be paid for through productivity gains. Its submission to the independent Parliamentary Budget Office showed a cost of $0 over the forward estimates.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cLabor now reveals that its 4.5% pay rise, which is yet to be accepted by all unions, will cost $618 million in 2023-24 and $2.5 billion over the forward estimates. Yesterday the Premier claimed to have found over $600 million in savings to pay for this broken promise \u2013 but again he can\u2019t provide the detail to substantiate his words.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cSlashing Active Kids and slashing other cost of living programs are not productivity savings. These are hits on cost of living programs that will be paid for by NSW families.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Shadow Treasurer Damien Tudehope highlighted the strong economic record of the Coalition government that confirmed two AAA credit ratings.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cLabor\u2019s complaints about the State\u2019s debt reek of hypocrisy \u2013 Labor supported every measure delivered in response to the COVID-19 pandemic and natural disasters, and supported infrastructure programs financed through debt. Despite these challenges, NSW retained two AAA Credit Ratings,\u201d Mr Tudehope said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cNSW State net debt is projected to stabilise at about 14 per cent of Gross State Product by June 2026, compared with a projected 26.5 per cent under the Victorian Labor Andrews Government at 30 June 2026.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cWithout having identified any potential reductions in our State\u2019s debt, its rich for the Treasurer to express shock at debt that has been forecast and known since before the election.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Mr Speakman said that the Coalition is proud of its economic management, record investment in schools, hospitals and infrastructure; and support for families, households and businesses.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cChris Minns must take responsibility for the fact NSW households and families are paying the price for Labor\u2019s broken promises,\u201d Mr Speakman concluded.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
The Opposition is calling out Labor\u2019s Budget blackhole lie, saying the Government is shifting blame for its broken promises, wrong priorities and public sector union wage deal cost blowout. \u201cThe Government is choosing to slash vital cost of living programs including Active Kids, Creative Kids and First Lap, to limit energy relief for NSW households … Continue reading “Labor\u2019s budget blackhole and budget lies”<\/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-21478","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\/21478","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=21478"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"http:\/\/www.16news.com.au\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/21478\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":21479,"href":"http:\/\/www.16news.com.au\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/21478\/revisions\/21479"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.16news.com.au\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=21478"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.16news.com.au\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=21478"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.16news.com.au\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=21478"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}