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The Hon Penny Sharpe MLC
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NSW Mini Budget - difficult but some good news
Submitted by Penny Sharpe on Tue, 11/11/2008 - 12:14pm.
The Treasurer has just delivered his speech for the mini budget. The Government has had to find $3.3 billion in savings and has raised revenues by another $3.6 billion (including congestion tolls, fee rises and potential privatisations). The payroll tax cuts remain. Also announced is $850million of spending. The aim of all of this has been to maintain infrastructure spending, quarantine front line services, introduce an alternative electricity plan and maintain NSW's AAA credit rating.
There will be plenty of media attention given to the significant downsides to the budget. Today I want to draw your attention to some of the positives:
- $56.8 billion will be spent on infrastructure in the next fours years including 19 new school projects and 12 new TAFE projects
- An additional $3000 for first home buyers + stamp duty exemptions for first home buyers
- An additional $150million for school maintenance, $20million for 80 new special needs teachers, an additional 27 schools to get priority assistance funding and additional funding for the scheme that allows Principal's to assit kids with books, uniforms and other expenses.
- $370million for new outer suburban rail carriages, $170 million for 300 new buses, 3000 new commuter car spaces
- Establishment of the Sydney Metro system
- $40million for kids in out of home care
- $85million for the Building the Country fund that will support better broadband, libraries, community halls and local tourism in the bush.
Hi Penny, I've been reading
Hi Penny, I've been reading your blog for some time, and while I try to stay non-partisan and think of you as an individual, I haven't read anything that has stopped me being critical of the way your government operates. I'd have thought that after twelve years experience, Labor should have the state running like a well-oiled machine. Instead, we're barely keeping our head above water, with poor service delivery, and high taxation and charges that gouge low income workers. You tell us to focus on the positives, yet they're just fripperies in comparison to the fundamental problems, which seem to be the result of the calibre and culture of the powerbrokers and ministers. I could list some of my own consequences of your government, but I won't make this comment about me. Rather, I'd like to know how Labor can justify remaining in government after such chronic underperformance and its dire ramifications, and not call an election when Labor knows it has roundly lost the public's support?
I ask this sincerely, with no intent to offend.
Thank you.
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