NSW flags $3bn infrastructure spend

By Grace Ormsby

June 02 2020
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Echoing the jobs sentiment of the Prime Minister, the NSW government has revealed a $3 billion fund for the creation of up to 20,000 extra jobs in the state.

The Infrastructure and Job Acceleration Fund will be used “for smaller, shovel-ready projects touching every corner of the state”, a statement from Premier Gladys Berejiklian said.

Her comments come as Prime Minister Scott Morrison announced a reform to the federation system, which will see the Council of Australian Governments replaced by the national cabinet system, which is “to be driven by a singular agenda, and that is to create jobs”.

According to Ms Berejiklian, infrastructure will provide a path to employment and economic recovery, with the effect of firing up the state’s economy.

The latest $3 billion announcement increases the state’s guaranteed infrastructure pipeline to $100 billion.

The Premier said this will be “our best chance [of] supporting the hundreds of thousands of people who have already lost their jobs in NSW”.

“We are now not only guaranteeing our infrastructure pipeline. We will be looking for opportunities to fast-track projects to provide jobs as early as we can,” she continued.

Shelved from the infrastructure pipeline is the rebuild of Stadium Australia.

According to the state government, while the rebuild was “a sensible project backed by the people of NSW at last year’s election”, it does not make sense in the current health and economic climate.

With around 500,000 residents of NSW currently out of work, treasurer Dominic Perrottet flagged the Reserve Bank of Australia’s expectation as prompting the state government’s response: “The clear advice from the Reserve Bank of Australia was that governments should do everything they can to create jobs and stimulate the economy as we emerge from the shadow of COVID-19.”

Deputy Premier John Barilaro highlighted that the fast-tracking of projects will support jobs across the entire state as they are identified.

“The communities of NSW have been through an incredibly tough period with continued drought, horrific bushfires and now COVID-19, and the best path to recovery is creating jobs,” Mr Barilaro said.

“An unprecedented crisis calls for an unprecedented recovery, and redirecting funding from Stadium Australia to job-creating infrastructure builds is the right thing to do for the people of NSW.”

About the author

Grace Ormsby

Grace is a journalist on Momentum Media's nestegg. She enjoys being able to provide easy to digest information and practical tips for Australians with regard to their wealth, as well as having a platform on which to engage leading experts and commentators and leverage their insight.

About the author

Grace Ormsby

Grace is a journalist on Momentum Media's nestegg. She enjoys being able to provide easy to digest information and practical tips for Australians with regard to their wealth, as well as having a platform on which to engage leading experts and commentators and leverage their insight.

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