State Budget and Government Charges

Hansard ID: HANSARD-1323879322-118366

Hansard session: Fifty-Seventh Parliament, First Session (57-1)

State Budget and Government Charges

Ms JANELLE SAFFIN (Lismore) (16:59:53):

I move:

That this House acknowledges that the Government's 2021-22 budget delivers higher tolls, taxes, fines and fees, and is built on picking the pockets of working families.

If a budget is built on rising fees, fines, taxes and tolls that are charged in perpetuity, then it cannot claim to be a sustainable budget. The same can be said for a budget that has slow growth and diminishing productivity because we all know that productivity is the key to growth. We know that there are no fully commensurate budget measures to address this. Revenue is up $4.5 billion but that is from stamp duty, not from productivity—and that is what we need to see in the budget. Recently the Treasurer denigrated MPs on this side of the Chamber by saying we probably did not know the NSW Intergenerational Report existed, let alone had read it. I say to the Treasurer that he can come into the Chamber and parade and display his intellectual arrogance—it is a sign of disregard for fellow MPs but it is also simply not nice and bad manners—but he can also come into the Chamber and have an open debate about the Intergenerational Report.

The Treasurer could use it to benchmark his budget and show that it is fair, that there is productivity and growth—which there is not—and that is it not just about hiking up fees, taxes, tolls, charges and levies and putting the Government's hand into the pockets of working families. He could also benchmark it against inequality because we see rising inequality. Budgets can do to a lot to address that. He could also benchmark it against the Gini coefficient. We do not do too bad on that measure in Australia but we need to, and can, do better on it in New South Wales. So the Treasurer should bring the Intergenerational Report in here, benchmark it and have that debate. You can ask me what I know about tolls. I do not know a lot about tolls but I do know that they are rising—like fees and charges right across New South Wales and its regions.

This is about a budget that delivers fairness and this one is not delivering fairness right across the board. We hear about fiscal responsibility and get a lecture from the Treasurer—as we do—about it. But despite the humbug and the invective that we endure from him when he is talking about the budget, we all agree on that. We all know that when Labor was in government there were 16 years of triple-A ratings. Of the 16 years, one—from memory—was in deficit and that was when we had the global financial crisis. So let us just put that to bed because we have to listen all the time to that nonsense when the Treasurer goes on about what he inherited from Labor. He inherited fiscal responsibility and sound budget settings with 16 years of triple-A ratings. In terms of the cost of living, we know that the budget is built on high and growing fines, fees, taxes and tolls. As people struggle to pay their bills, they cannot afford to pay government bills as well.

We know that the budget expects $3.5 billion in revenue from fines. That is a 35 per cent jump from last year. We also know that the sneaky government action with secret cameras and the 1,599 per cent increase in low‑range speeding fines have done nothing to address safety issues. All of us here agree that it is always about safety and it cannot be just about raising revenue by charging us. We know that when we see a sign we slow down and we stop. It changes human behaviour, and yet we also have $96 million in fees charged to small businesses and working families. We see the Premier stand in the Chamber and hear her tell us that the Liberal Party has somehow morphed into the party of workers. Those opposite are dreaming, really; the Premier is dreaming when she tells us that.

There is one key thing missing from the budget, and that is housing. We know a lot about housing and when we read the Intergenerational Report—this is the one that the Treasurer really likes to tout and display—it tells us housing matters for the economy and for people's living standards. Where is the housing? Where is that challenge being addressed in the budget? It is simply not there at all. If we do not have that, we do not have fairness or equity. We know that to attack and address housing in New South Wales we need 42,000 additional homes to be added to the housing stock every year. I think there were 800 social housing dwellings provided in in the budget, which goes nowhere near to addressing that need.

It is not all the Government; it is also the private sector. But the Government has to own its role in housing supply, housing affordability and attacking homelessness. Until the Government does that—I think the Liberals find that very difficult to do, while The Nationals have just vacated the field—housing will not be addressed in any way. If we do not do that, we cannot address any of the other challenges we have. In my area alone we have a waiting list of up to 10 years for housing. I know all members are impacted by it, but it is like amnesia—they come in here and it is as though the policy settings and budget settings do not count. They do count, and they are important.

Mr MARK COURE (Oatley) (17:07:09):

New South Wales is back. From the deepest recession in our lifetime, we are back to growth and back on track. Our best days are ahead of us here in New South Wales.

Ms Janelle Saffin:

Back from where—the sleeping dead?

The DEPUTY SPEAKER:

The member for Lismore will remain silent.

Mr MARK COURE:

You have had your chance; we have heard you.

The DEPUTY SPEAKER:

The member for Oatley will direct his comments through the Chair.

Mr MARK COURE:

Now it is my chance. From recovery to reform, keeping people safe as well as boosting economic recovery and creating a prosperous future through innovation, continued investment and reform is at the heart of this budget in New South Wales. After the sharpest fall in nearly 80 years—and I am sure the member for Rockdale remembers—the New South Wales economy is rebounding rapidly, with 300,000 jobs added since the height of the pandemic in mid-2020. It is through strong economic management that the New South Wales Government has improved our State since 2011, as we embark on another decade of delivery right across New South Wales. What we heard from the member for Lismore—and I like the member for Lismore—was wrong on many fronts, and it breaks my heart to say that.

When it comes to this budget, more than $6 billion in new and existing rebates, concessions and cost‑of‑living measures are available to households to assist in reducing the impact of everyday living costs and to encourage involvement in activities to support development and participation. Key budget announcements include over $330 million for energy social programs to provide the community with more affordable energy, over $240 million to extend the regional seniors travel card to the member for Lismore and $43.9 million over two years to provide a $100 learn-to-swim Active Kids voucher for children aged three to six not yet enrolled in school to develop important water safety and swimming skills. My children and the children of the member for Manly will benefit from this program. Additionally, the Government has committed to continuing existing measures including Active Kids, Creative Kids, Smart and Skilled, student transport schemes and toll relief alongside a number of tax relief measures.

It is not just cost of living. My favourite portfolio, Health, has seen record $30.2 billion investment. NSW Health has received $30.2 billion in the budget, with almost $11 billion being invested to build and upgrade 37 hospitals across New South Wales, along with $1.4 billion to boost ambulance services, over $1 billion to continue the State's response to the COVID-19 pandemic and $159 million to fund services in newly constructed hospitals. Locally, St George Hospital—to the benefit of the member for Rockdale, whose thumbs are up—will continue to benefit, with $385 million recommitted in the budget for stage three of its redevelopment. That brings the total investment since our election to office in 2011 to $700 million. But what was Labor's track record?

The DEPUTY SPEAKER:

The member for Terrigal will come to order. The member for Swansea will come to order.

Mr MARK COURE:

It was ignored for 16 years under Labor. In fact, the last government to upgrade that hospital was the Greiner-Fahey Liberal-Nationals Government in the eighties and the nineties. Before that it was the Askin Government. When it comes to St George Hospital, Labor is no friend to the member for Rockdale. When it comes to this budget, our Government is turbocharging our economic recovery, creating a future for local residents and their families through innovation, continued investment and appropriate reform. Community sport—but I only have three seconds and I will not continue.

Mr DAVID MEHAN (The Entrance) (17:12:23):

I support the motion moved by the member for Lismore, which states:

That this House acknowledges that the Government's 2021-22 Budget delivers higher tolls, taxes, fines and fees, and is built on picking the pockets of working families.

In supporting the motion, I also posit the view that because it is one of the most expensive places on earth to live, an increasing number of our citizens—especially if they are working people—are going to other States of this great country to find a more affordable place to reside. Let us go to the tolls, charges and fees being levied by this Government on the backs of working people across New South Wales. Fines are up $229 million this year on last year—35 per cent. Wages have increased barely more than 2 per cent and a 35 per cent increase in fines is being paid by those who work either as employees or for themselves by the sweat of their brow—the self-employed—travelling our roads every day and paying the fines levied by this Government.

Regulatory fees, licences and other revenue collected by the Government are up $117 million—again, much more than the increase in wages and income earned by my constituents and the working people of this State. We are the most tolled country on the face of the planet and tolls continue to rise, up 25 per cent this year with $33 million more being levied on the working people of this State. From an electorate like mine and that of the member for Swansea on the Central Coast, where so many of our citizens travel for work on the highways of this great State, that tolling hits them disproportionately hard compared with its impact on people in the Sydney area. The Hon. John Graham, MLC, the shadow Minister for Roads in the other place, has highlighted the iniquity of tolling under the Government, especially with respect to hidden cameras.

Revenue increased from $478,000 in the year to March 2020 to $6.3 million in the year to March 2021 and, in his words, "without saving a single extra life on New South Wales roads". If that is the case, it is disastrous for the people of New South Wales. It is filching on an unprecedented level. The money being returned to community safety programs is the lowest on record. I do not know how those opposite can lie straight in bed with that sort of outcome. Housing in this country has never been more unaffordable for working people, particularly in New South Wales. Over the past 10 years under this Government, we have nothing but shit apartments and some of the most unaffordable homes on the face of the earth.

Mr Mark Coure:

What was that? There are kids watching this.

The DEPUTY SPEAKER:

Order! The member for Oatley will direct his comments through the Chair.

Mr DAVID MEHAN:

The member for Oatley knows the quality of apartments. Apartment quality is poor, energy costs are very high, and I could go on. The Minister today in question time talked about social housing. We used to refer to social housing as public housing. The Minister talked about the number of social housing dwellings being built in the State. You could count them on your fingers and toes—41 on the Central Coast. The Central Coast now has 200 fewer social housing dwellings than it had 10 years ago. The Government is building 41. That is great and I welcome it, but we are still way behind where we were. Evictions are going up and up as people in Sydney who cannot afford to live there move to the Central Coast, pushing out people who have lived for generations on the Central Coast. Working families expecting affordable housing are pushed out of our area further north.

I will move to population. Interstate migration is a telling figure for this State, as the Australian Bureau of Statistics clearly shows. New South Wales has lost more people than any other State. More people are moving out of this State than moving into it. They are all going to Queensland and Victoria because it is too expensive to live in New South Wales under this Government.

The DEPUTY SPEAKER:

Before I call the member for Manly, I remind the member for Oatley and Opposition members to sit in their allocated seats.

Mr JAMES GRIFFIN (Manly) (17:18:11):

I speak to the motion moved by the member for Lismore. I appreciate that the member for Oatley is now sitting in his designated spot. I will comment on some of the arguments put by the member for Lismore and, more recently, by the member for The Entrance, whom I have a great deal of respect for. This debate was the Opposition's opportunity to dismantle, attack and poke holes in the State budget and quite frankly it has fallen flat. Its response to what is an outstanding budget has been to quibble and argue. If you care about difficult challenges like homelessness and supporting the vulnerable in our community and you respond by pointing out that revenue from fees and registration and fines has increased, then God help us if those opposite were ever to get on to this side of the Chamber.

The DEPUTY SPEAKER:

The member for Rockdale will come to order.

Mr JAMES GRIFFIN:NSW Productivity Commission White Paper

The member for Lismore raised the issue of productivity, which is a very important one. I refer her to page 13 of the Treasurer's speech, where he pointed out that we appointed a Commissioner for Productivity back in 2018. So there is, in fact, someone in New South Wales whose single role it is to extract and get more productivity out of the workers and the good people of this State. That is how seriously we take the issue of productivity, which the member for Lismore is right in raising as a challenge. In addition to that, the Treasurer's speech outlined that he will update the Parliament every six months on how we are progressing on each of the 60 recommendations contained in the . So suggesting we are not taking productivity seriously is incorrect.

The Sydney Morning Herald

The second comment that did not seem to stack up with reality was the suggestion that the Government inherited fiscal responsibility and a sound budget from the previous 16 years of Labor governments. There is a very interesting story on the internet from . The title says it all: "NSW - the sad state". It talks about the final years of the decade of Bob Carr and beyond. It goes on to say that perhaps it was not just "a faltering economy, inadequate and crumbling infrastructure, health and transport systems stretched and under stress, the lost opportunity of the Sydney Olympics". It continues that New South Wales was the worst performing State economy, "the most regulated and highest-taxing State and the one with the worst budget bottom line" in all of Australia.

Ms Yasmin Catley:

Could have read that today.

Mr JAMES GRIFFIN:

No, it is not today. If we compare the last 10 years of the Labor Government with the past 10 years that this Government—

Ms Yasmin Catley:

You were still in school when that was written, James.

Mr JAMES GRIFFIN:

I was, and I remember vividly the Sydney Olympics and how impressed I was with it.

The DEPUTY SPEAKER:

The member for Terrigal will come to order. I call the member for Swansea to order for the second time.

Mr JAMES GRIFFIN:

It is such a shame today to think back on the missed opportunities and a government that was asleep at the wheel to leave us with a busted and broken State economy, which put us in the position that we were left with to come along and fix it all up.

The DEPUTY SPEAKER:

The member for Rockdale will come to order.

Mr JAMES GRIFFIN:

To compare the last 10 years of the Labor Government with the past 10 years of this Government is to see a government that is in very stark contrast.

Mr Stephen Kamper:

You were was still watching The Wiggles, James.

The DEPUTY SPEAKER:

I call the member for Rockdale to order for the first time.

Mr JAMES GRIFFIN:

The Wiggles are a fantastic outfit. The past 10 years of this Government have been about building the foundations to ensure that every person in this State, no matter where they live, has the opportunity to succeed. We have set the foundations that will build a brighter future for the people of New South Wales. The budget clearly demonstrates how that has been set out. To suggest that we have done that without managing a one-in-100 year pandemic sets aside reality. Those opposite should respect the fact that the budget sets up New South Wales for 10 years of success. It goes to the heart of supporting all people in New South Wales, including the vulnerable and the voiceless, and does an incredibly good job of doing just that.

Mr EDMOND ATALLA (Mount Druitt) (17:23:05):

At the conclusion of the Budget Speech by the Treasurer, as I was sitting in the gallery not far from here, I saw Government members all stand up congratulating each other, high-fiving each other and shaking hands with the Treasurer and telling him, "A good job you have done there in conning the people of New South Wales into believing that this is a great budget". It cannot be a great budget. No great budget should rely on revenue being raised from tolls, taxes and increased fees.

The DEPUTY SPEAKER:

I call the member for Oatley to order for the first time.

Mr EDMOND ATALLA:

It is not a sign of a good budget when you rely on increased taxes and so forth. Let me tell you a story—and it does not have a happy ending. Once upon a time, many years ago, the government of the day—and it was not this Government—wanted to address the crash hotspots in New South Wales, so it installed speed cameras only at those hotspots. Its motive was road safety. That was the only motive for those speed cameras—to ensure no accidents or fewer accidents, no injuries and no deaths at those locations. Then the Liberal‑Nationals Government came in. Those opposite looked at the books and said, "Wow! These few cameras are bringing in some dollars. Let's roll out these cameras all over New South Wales, not necessarily in accident spots."

Then the Treasurer and the roads Minister had a discussion over dinner not far from here, and said, "Look at how much money all these cameras across New South Wales are raking in." Their eyes twinkled. "What more can we do to rip more money out of the people of New South Wales?" And the roads Minister said, "Let's remove all the signage." What was the result of removing all the signage? Did the revenue from low‑range speeding increase by 100 per cent? Let me impersonate the health Minister. Did it improve by 200 per cent?

Opposition members:

No!

Mr EDMOND ATALLA:

Was it 500 per cent?

Opposition members:

No!

Mr EDMOND ATALLA:

Was it 1,000 per cent?

Opposition members:

No!

Mr EDMOND ATALLA:

It was a 1,600 per cent increase in revenue. The Government ripped that 1,600 per cent from working families. Does this Liberal‑Nationals Government care about saving lives at crash hotspots? When those opposite remove the signage, they are saying, "We don't care if people have accidents there. We don't care if people get injured there as long as we rake in the dollars." That is what it is all about—raking in the dollars from working families. Let us move to the other story about the tolls. Once upon a time, tolls were put on roads to recoup the cost of constructing those roads.

The DEPUTY SPEAKER:

I call the member for Oatley to order for the second time.

Mr EDMOND ATALLA:¢Time expired.

That was the only motive—to pay back the construction cost of the road. I remember travelling along the F6 to study in Wollongong and I would drop my 20 into the basket. Do members remember those baskets? They calculated how much money they needed to collect to recoup the cost of the road. Then this Government came in and said, "This is a business venture—tolls, tolls, tolls!" []

Mr LEE EVANS (Heathcote) (17:28:30):

The history‑making budget we have handed down for New South Wales sets us up for the future of not only this generation but generations to come. Some of the highlights include $200 million in tax relief for hardworking people across New South Wales; lifting wages from 1 July through a new wages policy that offers an increase of 2.5 per cent to all New South Wales public servants, who number over 400,000; and free registration for regular toll users. I think the Opposition missed the memo about the free rego from the Minister for Customer Service, and Minister for Digital. There is a whole section on toll relief.

Toll relief provides free vehicle registration for drivers who have spent $1,352 or more on tolls in the previous financial year—an average of $26 per week. Drivers who have spent $811 or more during the previous financial year—an average of $16 a week—are eligible for half‑price registration. To qualify for a privately registered vehicle's free or half‑price registration, toll relief will be calculated on the toll spend of all eligible vehicles linked to one personal toll account. So the "toll mania" and all the rest of the hoo‑ha members opposite go on about—that there is no relief for drivers who use toll roads—is absolute hooey.

I will mention some other highlights. I note the member for Rockdale has left the Chamber. The budget provides $2.7 billion for the M6 extension, which is fantastic for people south of the CBD. The Government is also building 250 Aboriginal housing dwellings and upgrading 7,000 more. I agree with the member for Lismore that we need to do more in that space, but Rome was not built in a day. I am a member of an inquiry that is looking at public housing and its maintenance. It is a losing battle; more people are becoming eligible for public housing than we can keep up with. It is a major issue for our communities. I feel greatly for people on waiting lists. The member for Lismore referred to a wait time of 10 years in her electorate. People in my electorate of Heathcote are waiting for 15 years for public housing.

I highlight the announcement of the Bundeena to Wollongong walk in my electorate. I am happy that it has come to fruition. It traverses the oldest national park in Australia, the second oldest in the world. The walk follows the edge of the wind‑sculpted and ochre‑tinted sandstone cliffs, crosses the sandy beaches of Big Marley and Little Marley, and takes in the heathlands and clifftop waterfalls at Curra Moors, the serenity of Wattamolla Inlet and the big surf at Garie Beach. There will also be some reasonably priced accommodation along the way, so you can do a two‑ or three‑day walk from Bundeena all the way through to Wollongong.

It goes through the heart of my electorate and the electorate of the member for Keira. We are proud of that. There is also a South Coast biking strategy to get off‑road biking through my electorate. These are examples of how the Government is giving the communities in our electorates world‑standard facilities and spending more money on people. The member for Oatley mentioned a lot of those initiatives. One is the absolutely fantastic policy of swimming lessons for preschoolers so that we can have those kids "waterproofed", so to speak, into the future. It is important that a government with a heart, like the current Government, gives back to the people of New South Wales.

Ms JANELLE SAFFIN (Lismore) (17:33:52):

In reply: I thank the member for Oatley, even with his $6 billion fiction and the water babies story, which was great—we all love the babies to have those $100 vouchers—but this budget does not cut it as a budget of equality. The member for The Entrance made it clear that we are the most taxed and tolled State. The member for Manly said that revenue had increased, which I said as well, but the challenges of housing are not being addressed, which was one of the big points I made. The member for Manly also talked about the white paper and the NSW Commissioner for Productivity, but having a productivity commissioner does not mean that we have productivity growth. We all support the Commissioner for Productivity but we want to see results. Getting an update from the Treasurer every six months, during which he hectors and lectures us, will not tell us what the Government is doing about productivity.

The member for Mount Druitt told a great story. It was good to hear the facts about the speed cameras in those hotspots. Those cameras are in place for safety, as they should be, not just for revenue. The member for Heathcote gave a very thoughtful contribution on housing. He said that it is a losing battle, but it is a battle that we cannot lose. We cannot throw our hands in the air and say that it is a losing battle; we must address it systematically at a State level. The State must talk to the Federal Government and the Federal Government must also be involved.

A number of schemes were introduced at a Federal level under Labor, including the National Rental Affordability Scheme, which worked to provide affordable housing in the private sector. Everybody said it worked. Recently I was at a housing forum with the member for Tweed and the housing providers acknowledged that it worked, though it was clunky in reporting but we can always change those things. We must address the problem. We cannot say that public housing is for the most disadvantaged or for the homeless; it is also for working families and for workers. Members in the Chamber contest who looks after workers; we must do something for them. In closing, fines are up, tolls are up, taxes are up and housing affordability is down.

The DEPUTY SPEAKER:

The question is that the motion be agreed to.

The House divided.

Ayes34

Noes40

Majority6

Motion negatived.