Month: June 2024

The Minns Labor Government is building a stronger local government sector by ensuring councils are better positioned to deliver on the key outcomes their communities need, including the delivery of new homes.

The Government recognises councils’ critical role in the housing crisis and has reserved $200 million in grants for councils to meet and beat their housing targets. 

This funding will help councils deliver infrastructure including roads, open spaces and community facilities.

The 2024-25 NSW Budget invests in further strengthening councils with an additional $37.4 million to bolster the capacity of the Office of Local Government which has been under-resourced for decades.

This funding will enable the Office of Local Government to enact better regulation and enhance its ability to intervene quickly when governance and financial issues are identified across the state’s 128 councils. 

It will also support reform delivery, namely, to the councillor code of conduct and to increase transparency and accountability across local government.

The Budget also assists NSW pensioners with cost-of-living pressures, providing $78.5 million in 2024-25 to continue funding council rate concessions. 

Councils are the closest level of government to the people of NSW, but more than a decade of neglect by the previous government has left serious challenges which impact councils’ ability to deliver the services NSW communities use every day. 

This funding is part of the Minns Labor Government’s plan to build better communities for NSW. 

A plan to build stronger councils to deliver the services people rely on today and into the 
future.

A plan to build a better NSW.

Belinda Rigg SC has today been appointed a judge of the Supreme Court of NSW.

Ms Rigg was appointed Senior Counsel in 2014 and for the past five years she has been the NSW Senior Public Defender.

She has appeared in and advised on hundreds of serious and high-profile criminal matters for people who have been granted legal aid, including appearing in the High Court of Australia in significant and complex matters.

Her case work has been a mix of first instance and appellate work, and for a considerable time mainly focussed on large, complex homicide matters.

Ms Rigg has appeared in many challenging murder trials, sentence matters and appeals, including high profile matters.

As Senior Public Defender, Ms Rigg led a team of 29 Public Defenders located around the state to ensure their work is best serving Legal Aid NSW and the Aboriginal Legal Service.

After being admitted as a lawyer in 1997, Ms Rigg became a barrister and joined Sir Owen Dixon Chambers. She practised there for six years before being appointed as a Public Defender in 2004. Belinda Rigg SC will be sworn in on 24 July 2024.

Attorney General Michael Daley said:

“I am delighted to announce the appointment of Belinda Rigg SC to the Supreme Court bench.

“Ms Rigg’s expertise will be invaluable to the Court and everyone who interacts with it.

“I congratulate her on this well-deserved achievement.”

The NSW Government has enacted its emergency biosecurity incident plan to address the detection of Avian influenza in the Hawkesbury district on a poultry egg farm, that has been confirmed as the High Pathogenicity Avian Influenza (HPAI).

This analysis was confirmed by the CSIRO national testing labs, the Australian Centre for Disease Preparedness today.

The HPAI detected is the H7N8 type and is not the same strain as the current Victorian outbreak. It is understood at this point to be a separate spill-over event, potentially from wild birds.

High pathogenic diseases spread quickly and have a high mortality rate amongst poultry birds, which is why there has been an immediate lock down of the farm.

The detection has triggered the NSW Government’s Emergency Animal Disease response, including an individual biosecurity direction to the farm and business, closing it off.

Under the individual direction the affected egg farm has implemented quarantine to prevent the movement of equipment, and animals, to stop further spread.

A formal control order will be declared this afternoon that will extend biosecurity control to a radius of 1-2 kilometres around the farm site.

The legal instrument will guide the urgent actions of depopulating poultry and decontaminating the farm.

The government’s Biosecurity Incident Management team is now up and running and has been liaising with the Consultative Committee on Emergency Animal diseases to discuss immediate response plans and the National Emergency Animal Disease Management Group.

NSW consumers should not be concerned about eggs and poultry products from the supermarkets.

This detection does not pose a risk to consumer health and the products are safe to consume, if they are handled and cooked as per standard food handling practices​.

The government will work closely with industry to reduce the risk of spread and minimise any impact on egg supply.

As outlined in yesterday’s Budget, the NSW Government takes biosecurity threats seriously with $946 million invested for protecting our state and our primary industries.

Detections like this demonstrate our biosecurity system and plan is working to detect incursions when they occur, and then taking swift action to contain, manage, eradicate, and decontaminate.

Information on Avian influenza is available on the Department of Primary Industries website. This website will be updated as information comes to hand.

Judge Michael Allen has today been announced as the next Chief Magistrate of the Local Court of NSW.

He has worked in all areas of the law including family and domestic violence, serious crime, workers compensation and civil law.

Judge Allen is committed to the administration of justice with almost 40 years’ experience, including as Deputy Chief Magistrate and most recently as a District Court Judge.

He has worked in all areas of the law including family and domestic violence, serious crime, workers compensation and civil law.

Judge Allen is passionate about the Local Court and the role of magistrates as members of their local communities working with the police, health and justice agencies to ensure community safety.

For almost a decade, he was a Local Court magistrate before being appointed Deputy Chief Magistrate in 2018 and became an acting judge of the District Court in 2022. This work took him all over the state including many years based in Western Sydney and regional NSW.

Since early 2023, Judge Allen has been a District Court Judge at Penrith and from January this year has been the resident list judge there. His responsibilities include listing arrangements, short matters, sentences, appeals and both jury and judge alone trials.

Judge Allen started his career as a solicitor in private practice in 1986, before becoming a barrister in 2001 and practising across regional NSW for several years. He later worked with the Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions and Legal Aid NSW.

These roles helped him develop skills in defence and prosecution in a broad range of matters. Judge Michael Allen will be sworn in on 8 July 2024.

Attorney General Michael Daley said:

“I am delighted to announce the appointment of Michael Allen as Chief Magistrate of the NSW Local Court.

“Judge Allen is a highly experienced jurist.

“I would like to thank retiring Chief Magistrate Judge Peter Johnstone for his outstanding service over the past three years as Chief Magistrate and before that as the President of the Children’s Court.

“Judge Johnstone has dedicated his career to public service and will formally retire on 5 July 2024.”

The NSW Opposition has slammed Labor’s Budget of blame for delivering more deficits, higher taxes and less investment while ignoring the cost of living crisis.  
 
Leader of the Opposition Mark Speakman said despite the Minns Labor Government’s taxes bringing in record revenues, NSW is facing more real cuts to overall health, education and infrastructure spending and a long line of deficits.
 
“Instead of helping struggling households and small businesses, Chris Minns is imposing more taxes and blaming everyone, from Canberra to Donald Trump, for his Government’s budget mismanagement instead of the real culprit – their unfunded deals with union bosses,” Mr Speakman said.
 
“Before the election, Labor promised that their union deals would cost the Budget nothing but they are costing at least $9 billion, and that’s without taking into account more than $6 billion in current union wage demands for which no money has been provided in this Budget.”
 
“This is a Government of excuses. Chris Minns’ broken promises mean less money for our schools and hospitals, less investment in our roads and key infrastructure and less cost of living support.”
 
Leader of the Nationals Dugald Saunders said this bleak Budget fails to consider the needs of NSW’s regional residents.
 
“There are concerning cuts to the money that will be rolled out by the Department of Regional NSW, including for natural disaster support, and hardly any new funding to combat biosecurity threats,” Mr Saunders said.
 
“Capital investment is also going backwards in the bush when it comes to schools and hospitals, so there’s no good news for our hard-working farmers and families.”
 
Shadow Treasurer Damien Tudehope said the Minns Labor Government was adding to the state’s debt burden, creating a line of deficits as far as the eye can see, while making farcical claims about the GST.
 
“Rather than blaming Canberra, Chris Minns and Daniel Mookhey need to look in the mirror for the reason behind their deficits,” said Mr Tudehope. “The Minns Labor Government have added more than $11.5 billion in deficits over the next four years, taking our net debt to $139 billion by June 2028 – more than doubling our interest payments to $8.6 billion a year.”
 
“Chris Minns and Daniel Mookhey attempts to blame Canberra for an alleged $11.9 billion GST rip-off is undone by their own Budget papers, which clearly say that ‘over the four years to 2027-28, GST revenue has been revised down by $6.2 billion’.”
 
“This Budget shows the cost of Labor’s union deals, with employee expenses set to blow out to at least 45.5% of Budget expenditure by 2026-27.”
 
Shadow Minister for Finance Eleni Petinos said the second Minns-Mookhey Budget delivers no relief for NSW households suffering from Labor’s cost of living crisis, instead increasing taxes.
 
“The Labor Government’s deficits now have NSW firmly on track to lose our AAA credit rating, while they’re hoping to get the people of this state to buy their spin.”
 
“This is a budget that sends NSW households and small businesses backwards, adding more than $6 billion extra tax in the next 3 years – it’s the same old Labor.”
 
Mr Speakman concluded by saying the Minns Labor Government’s Budget leaves families and households across NSW behind at a time when they should be supported by their Government.

Hundreds of public schools across metropolitan and regional NSW will benefit from improved facilities following a billion-dollar boost for maintenance and minor upgrades.

The investment in our schools is part of the NSW Labor Government’s long-term plan to rebuild the state’s education system.

Deputy Premier and Minister for Education and Early Learning Prue Car, and Treasurer Daniel Mookhey, are today visiting Bonnyrigg High School, one of the schools to benefit from the funding injection.

As part of the 2024 to 2025 NSW Budget, following years of campaigning, the school will receive an upgrade to its bathrooms. Planning for the improvements will start in coming weeks, in consultation with the school.

A record $1.08 billion pipeline of investment for minor works in the coming financial year alone will support the delivery of $600 million for school maintenance work, alongside $150 million in essential works to boost disability access and safety, and $200 million for small upgrades and refurbishments.

Projects will focus on lifting standards of important facilities, particularly school bathrooms, as well as improving classrooms, science labs, workshops, performance and arts spaces and vocational education and training facilities.

Maintenance work in schools includes:

• Painting
• Repairs and replacements of roofs, fences, windows, doors ceilings, and carpeting
• Electrical repairs and upgrades
• Floor coverings
• Continuing to support urgent repairs in schools when needed

The Department of Education will work with principals and school leadership over coming months to prioritise projects.

The boost in investment comes as 62,000 longer-term school maintenance tasks have been carried out by the Department of Education in 2023 to 2024 so far, including maintenance works for close to 2 thirds of the state’s public schools, or 1492 schools in 6882 individual building.

Our plan to build a better NSW

Since being elected the Minns Labor Government has been working on a comprehensive plan to invest in and rebuild public education in NSW.

We are making the responsible decisions to ensure every family in NSW has access to free, quality public education.

This includes building new schools and upgrading existing facilities in rapidly-growing communities like those in Western Sydney, where this year’s budget delivers $3.6 billion for a pipeline of more than 60 new and upgraded schools.

This includes an overdue new public and high school for Box Hill in Sydney’s North West – with a temporary public school to take enrolments from next year.

Building, maintaining and improving essential services like public schools is key to building better communities and addressing the cost of living as families find it increasingly difficult to make ends meet. It is part of our plan to build a better NSW.

Deputy Premier and Minister for Education Prue Car said:

“This year’s budget will strengthen our commitment to keeping our schools and equipment in the good condition that our communities deserve.”

“Our public schools are the lifeblood of our communities, and we want teachers and students to feel proud to study and work in them – central to that is ensuring that they are maintained to a high standard and have the most up-to-date facilities.”

“I visited Bonnyrigg High School in November last year, to see first-hand concerns about some of the school facilities. I am pleased to be here today to announce that the school will benefit from this month’s back-to-basics Budget.”

“This investment will also give local economies a boost, supporting jobs and opportunities for local trades and businesses.”

“We are continuing our record investment in Western Sydney schools, whether it is to build the new and upgraded schools that these communities need or upgrading our existing schools for our teachers and students.”

Treasurer Daniel Mookhey said:

“Improving the conditions of NSW schools is a must-have to ensure that students and teachers have the best environment possible to learn and teach.”

“This Government is continuing to deliver on its promise to rebuild the state’s public education system.”

“When I visited Bonnyrigg High School earlier this year, I heard from the staff and students about their concerns.”

“This billion-dollar investment will make a material difference for 1,400 public schools and their communities.”

“We have the cut state’s debt, so that we are paying less on the state’s interest bill. We are now using those savings to make a difference for schools across NSW.”

The Minns Labor Government is delivering a suite of initiatives to support community mental health and wellbeing by increasing the essential help available to the people of NSW during times of distress.

Over 2 in 5 Australians aged 16 to 85 are estimated to have experienced a mental disorder at some point in their life and we know we need to provide better support so they can live healthy and happy lives.

The 2024-2025 NSW Budget invests in building better, more accessible mental health services for the people of NSW.

Building a Better Community Mental Health System

The NSW Government is investing $30.4 million to expand Community Mental Health Teams across targeted areas, including in regional NSW.

These teams work within Local Health Districts and specialty health networks caring for those who experience persistent and complex mental illness.

This funding will provide a workforce boost of approximately 35 additional mental health positions, which will support community outreach, allow for extended hours of service, and enable more comprehensive case management.

The 35 additional mental health professionals will include five outreach mental health housing liaison positions who will work with the Department of Communities and Justice to link people at risk of, or experiencing homelessness, who are accessing mental health services to housing and help them sustain tenancies.

The St Vincent’s Health network will also be allocated five workers to establish a new assertive adult community mental health team.

This will allow them to increase their support for those facing complex needs, including those experiencing homelessness, substance misuse issues, and those at risk of engagement with the criminal justice system.

Building Better Pathways to Community Living

This Budget also delivers $40 million for the Pathways to Community Living Initiative, which is focused on supporting alternatives to long-term hospital care for people with complex needs, who have persistent mental illness.

This will fund a complex care clinical workforce of over 25 professionals who will support patients through this program.

Building a Single Front Door for Better Mental Health Support

The NSW Government is investing an additional $39 million to strengthen mental health services by establishing a new Mental Health Single Front Door.

The NSW Single Front Door, delivered through Healthdirect, currently provides virtual GP, virtual KIDS, and Urgent Care Services.

Following this investment, this service will expand to include mental health support, allowing those in need to call Healthdirect to receive assessment advice from specialist clinicians and be connected with the appropriate services.

This initiative has been developed in consultation with carers, mental health professionals, a range of service providers, and those who may use the service.

By providing callers with information on alternative care pathways, the establishment of a Mental Health Single Front Door will also reduce avoidable Emergency Department presentations and improve patient flow across hospitals.

Providing Critical Support for the Mental Health Review Tribunal

The Mental Health Review Tribunal will receive an additional $2.4 million to enable a long-overdue digitisation of records, an upgrade to IT systems, and an investment in a new case management system.

These system improvements will support the Tribunal to meet the continued growth in patients and hearings.

Our Plan to Build a Better NSW

Since being elected, the Minns Labor Government has been working on a comprehensive plan to strengthen our mental health system.

We know it faces significant challenges, but we are making the responsible decisions to ensure the people of NSW have the care and services they deserve and need.

We want a fully staffed mental health care system that is responsive, well-resourced, and properly supports our community.

It is part of our plan to build a better NSW.