This is what the budget papers indicate the state government
is willing to spend on the est. 517,000 residents
living within across the local
government areas of Ballina, Bellingen, Byron, Clarence Valley, Coffs
Harbour, Kempsey, Kyogle, Lismore, Nambucca, Port Macquarie, Hastings, Tweed
and Richmond Valley.
The following are excerpts from Budget documents.
The North Coast is a
long string of seaside communities with a heavy focus on tourism and is the
most biologically diverse region in New South Wales. The Government is
delivering better education and health services for the region and delivering
significant investment in roads to enable smoother and safer connections.
Regional highlights
Investment in education
and skills:
* new Ballina High School
and upgrades at Kingscliff High School and Kingscliff Public School,
Murwillumbah High School and Murwillumbah East Public School
* funding for the
Kingscliff Campus Connected Health Hub and the Coffs Harbour Education Campus
as well as funding for TAFE Connected Learning Centres at Murwillumbah and
Yamba.
Health infrastructure
funding:
* $50.9 million to
continue the $582.1 million construction of a hospital at Tweed
* $16.8 million for the
Grafton Ambulatory Care Centre redevelopment
* $15.5 million for the
Coffs Harbour Hospital redevelopment
* $9.1 million for the
$73.0 million Macksville Hospital Redevelopment
* $5.0 million for the
$11.5 million Port Macquarie Hospital Car Park
* funding to partner
with Tresillian to establish a Family Care Centre Hub in Coffs Harbour.
Roads and infrastructure
initiatives:
* $1.2 billion for the
Pacific Highway upgrade between Woolgoolga and Ballina (State and Federally
funded)
* $62.0 million to
continue construction of the additional bridge over the Clarence River at
Grafton
* $28.0 million for
Oxley Highway safety and realignment works
* $20.0 million to
progress the Pacific Highway Bypass of Coffs Harbour (fully funded by the NSW
and Commonwealth Governments)
* $18.3 million to
continue construction of the replacement Bruxner Highway bridge over the
Clarence River at Tabulam.
Vibrant visitor economy:
* $1.7 million from the
Regional Growth Environment and Tourism Fund for the Stuarts Point Foreshore
Revitalisation project
* $7.7 million over four
years for the Tweed Hinterlands Walk, Byron to Border Ranges
* $7.5 million for the
Macleay Coast, Trial Bay precinct upgrade.
There were
also announcements which, although not directly targeting the North Coast,
hopefully might benefit the region at some point.
* $23.7 million in
2018-19 to employ an additional 200 paramedics (700 over the next four years)
and 13 call centre staff (50 over the next four years) to improve response
times, reduce paramedic fatigue and support safety
* increasing frontline
health staff, with an estimated 1,370 additional frontline staff across the
State, including 950 nurses and midwives, 300 doctors and 120 allied health
workers such as physiotherapists, occupational therapists and pharmacists
* record $2.1 billion
for mental health services including:
$100 million per year for specialist community
mental health support to continue the Government’s 10-year reforms
$82.5
million for increased admitted and community-based services across NSW.
There were a
number of across the board ‘initiatives announced’.
New initiatives include:
* the new Creative Kids
Rebate to provide families with a $100 voucher per school aged child, for extra
curricular activities including music, drama, visual and performing arts,
coding and language classes. This complements the existing Active Kids $100 Rebate,
announced in last year’s budget, which has been a resounding success with over
$38.0 million in rebates claimed by parents
* establishing an online
“one-click energy switch” service through Service NSW, which will allow
consumers to find and switch to the best alternative energy deals in the market
* establishing the
Service NSW cost of living service – a one-stop shop, available in Service NSW
centres, online or over the phone, to promote easy access to available rebates
and concessions across government
* reducing ten of the top parking fines issued
by State Government agencies by 25 per cent, ensuring that fines balance
fairness and deterrence
* reducing caravan motor
vehicle weight tax by 40 per cent, making caravan registration cheaper for
families
* extending universal
education access to preschool for three year olds, making NSW the first state
in Australia to do so, providing an average saving for families of $825 dollars
a year from 1 January 2019.
Law enforcement and emergency services will recieve the following:
* $288.2 million over
four years to further support the re-engineering of the NSW Police Force and
provide the Police Commissioner with the flexibility to deploy resources
according to need and effectively address and respond to crime
* increased capability
to respond to emergencies in New South Wales with:
$56.4
million over four years for the State Emergency Service Operational Fleet
Replacement Program, replacing emergency vehicles and equipment, marine vessels
and trailers
$6.5
million over two years for the Rural Fire Service to repurpose emergency
response helicopters gifted by the Australian Defence Force to increase
bushfire response capability.
* $52.6 million over
four years from 2018-19 to support the rollout of National Facial Biometric
Matching Capability across New South Wales which will enable access to new
face-matching technology. This technology will increase the capability to
identify suspects or victims of terrorist or other criminal activity, including
identity crime
* $151.1 million in
2018-19 ($467.3 million over four years) for the Critical Communications
Enhancement Program to expand the coverage of the Government Radio Network and
improve critical communications during emergencies.
Apart from:
$102.1
million (part of a five-year $1.4 billion program) to deliver outcomes that
help communities and businesses adapt to a changing climate;
$250.0
million in loans for the Farm Innovation Fund (FIF). The FIF provides loans of
up to $250,000 for investments in farm infrastructure to boost drought
preparedness and will now be accessible until 2022. The FIF also offers $50,000
seven-year interest free loans to allow farmers to transport fodder, move
live-stock and preserve stock bloodlines; and
$36.8 million to protect
threatened species across NSW by maximising the number of threatened species
secured in the wild, by investing $11.9 million to implement the Koala Strategy
and $24.9 million through the Saving our Species program;
there is little thought given to climate
change mitigation measures, coastal erosion, water sustainability, protection of
farmland or protection of remaining native forests and biodiversity generally.
In addition the NSW Treasurer announced the creation of a $3 billion NSW Generations Fund. A
sovereign wealth fund to
guard against intergenerational budgetary pressures and keep debt sustainable.
Commencing 1 January 2019 the NSW Government will introduce a 10 per cent point of consumption tax on wagering, applied on all bets. Presumably in order to capture a slice of online betting market profits.
For a quick look at further details go to the Budget Overview here.
