NSW economy: Treasurer floats High Line plan for Cahill Expressway
The Treasurer has flagged booting cars from a key Harbour road and transforming it into a New York-style pedestrian High Line.
NSW
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NSW Treasurer Dominic Perrottet will call on his federal counterpart Josh Frydenberg today to suspend the Fringe Benefit Tax in a bid to pump life back into the city’s bars and restaurants.
Speaking at the Sydney CBD Summit with other politicians alongside business and industry leaders on Thursday morning, Mr Perrottet also flagged a plan to boot cars from the Cahill Expressway to make way for pedestrians.
The idea would see cars stopped from accessing the road, which overlooks Circular Quay, and turn it into a New York-style High Line.
Mr Perrottet was also supportive of pub baron Justin Hemmes’s ideas to stimulate the CBD economy.
“I will raise it with the federal treasurer today, I am incredibly supportive of it. But if it is something that they can’t do, I will look at it in an innovative way that we can (do) something in that space,” he said.
“The more payroll tax we have cut in this state, the more tax we have made. The reality is if you lift taxes in certain areas that are well targeted, you drive economic growth which leads to a greater tax revenue for the state.”
Other ideas flagged at Thursday’s summit included scrapping the 2 sqm rule for pubs while bosses could order their employees back to the office on Mondays and Fridays so they are out spending money in bars and socialising with their colleagues.
The NSW Treasury will now examine the ideas put forward and $20 million of state government funds will be pumped in initiatives to revitalise the city.
“We will work very closely with the Lord Mayor to get this going as soon as possible,” Mr Perrottet said.
Ahead of the summit, Mr Hemmes urged NSW to shed the remaining COVID restrictions on hospitality and seize the “golden opportunity” to revive the CBD.
Mr Hemmes said NSW had led the world with its COVID response, and the remaining restrictions in hospitality — specifically the one person per two square metres rule — are “superfluous now”.
He said the rule was still a handbrake on bars in particular, with many operating at 50 per cent of capacity.
“This government has proven time and time again it can control outbreaks, so let’s keep the momentum going,” he said.
Mr Hemmes said the second handbrake on industry was a lack of workers due to visa restrictions.
The hospitality industry is in discussions over whether it could help fund an arrangement to bring workers into the country and pay for their quarantine, but he is also calling for relaxed restrictions on hours students can work.
“I’m incredibly optimistic about the future of the CBD, particularly in hospitality,” he said. “As people begin to come back to work in the city, the energy we are seeing is unlike anything I’ve seen in Sydney before.
“We are so lucky with how our government has managed the reopening thus far. Let’s keep the momentum going, let’s seize on it, and let’s not stagnate.”
The one person per two square metres rule is one of the last remaining restrictions in NSW.
More broadly, today’s Sydney summit noted the CBD remains disproportionately hit by the pandemic slow down. For example, expenditure by domestic overnight visitors to the city was $366 million in the December quarter of 2020, compared to $708 million in the first quarter.
The government today will announce a Winter Fair in the Domain, which will include a big top concert series to celebrate the return of live Australian music with 12 shows over four weekends, with concerts on Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays.
“We’re seeing strong signs of economic recovery in NSW but the CBD is not picking up at the same pace as other areas and we need to get it firing again,” Mr Perrottet said.
“People are starting to come back, although mostly midweek, and we still have a lot of ground to make up to get back to where we were.”
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