The NSW Labor Government has marked one year in office, passing 74 bills and delivering on major election commitments.
We were elected with a clear mandate to rebuild essential services, invest in our frontline workers, address the housing crisis, and stop privatisation. That is exactly what I have been doing.
Cost of living
The NSW Government’s number one priority is helping people across NSW with cost-of-living pressures. At the center of that is housing.
We have unveiled some of the most transformative planning reforms in NSW that will increase supply, making housing more affordable and in well-located areas close to transport, jobs, and existing infrastructure.
To help tackle the cost of living, we’ve removed the former government’s unfair wages cap and are delivering a 4.5 per cent pay rise for essential workers in 2023-24 – the biggest pay rise in a decade.
We’ve also given NSW teachers the largest pay rise in almost three decades and delivered professional pay and recognition for paramedics, ensuring they are amongst the highest paid in the country.
In addition, we’ve introduced a $60 toll cap to help families by reducing the cost of moving around our city.
Rebuilding essential services
We have delivered on our commitment to ban mobile phones in public high schools across NSW and announced 100 new public preschools, the biggest expansion of public preschools in NSW history.
After record teacher vacancies over the last decade, we transitioned 16,000 teachers and support staff from temporary contracts to permanent roles and started the school year with teacher vacancies down by 20 percent.
The NSW Government has begun the task of addressing the critical shortfall in police, committing to paying Student Police Officers while they study at the Goulburn Police Academy. This is an important workforce incentive to encourage more people to take up a career in the NSW Police Force.
We have begun rolling out Safe Staffing Levels in NSW public hospitals, which will improve health outcomes, reduce waiting times, take pressure off hospitals, and help retain experienced nurses and midwives in the NSW Health workforce.
In 12 months, we have slashed the number of overdue surgeries by over 80 per cent from 14,000 to 2,000 so people aren’t waiting in pain for important surgery.
Protecting the environment and investing in local amenities
We have delivered the biggest boost to environmental protection laws in more than 30 years. We recently opened Penrith Beach over the summer and provided a free area to cool off. I look forward to delivering more open space with council including Regatta Park, City Park, Trinity Drive Park, and upgrades to Allsopp Park.
Building new public transport infrastructure
We confirmed the construction of Metro West, with an enhanced focus on ensuring the project supports significant housing uplift in addition to doubling rail capacity between Parramatta and the Sydney CBD.
Meanwhile our Rail Repair Plan is making train services more reliable for everyone who uses our train network.
Repairing the budget
The NSW Government has begun the challenging task of repairing the state’s finances. We’ve reduced debt by $13 billion despite inheriting the largest debt ever passed from one government to another.
This was all while delivering the biggest infrastructure pipeline in NSW history to build roads, rail, schools, and hospitals.
After years of privatisation, we finally put a stop to the selling-off of state assets, including Sydney Water.
We’ve also declared NSW open for business by scrapping the cap on concerts and abolishing red tape for venues to make it easier to get outdoor dining and reduce noise complaints, to create jobs and get the Sydney economy going again.
More to do
Karen McKeown MP, Member for Penrith, said “The NSW Government is delivering an ambitious agenda and there is more work to be done to help the people of Penrith. We might be a year in but I’m only a quarter of the way into my plan to revive the Penrith community.”
