NSW Budget 2017: Active Kids rebate
AN ANNUAL rebate will be paid to parents for each school-aged child who engages in sport or swimming lessons in the surprise giveaway of today’s state budget.
NSW
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A $100 annual “Active Kids rebate” will be paid to parents for each school aged child who engages in sport or swimming lessons in the surprise giveaway of today’s state budget.
In another budget giveaway, small businesses and farmers will get some relief with $330 million worth of insurance and tax cuts — with the government abolishing insurance duty for small businesses on commercial vehicle insurance and professional indemnity insurance.
Duties on crop and livestock insurance will also be abolished.
The active kids rebate will form a voucher able to be claimed annually from January 1 to reduce the cost of sport registration or membership fees for after-school and weekend sport.
The rebate will cost the budget $207 million over four years. It comes after The Daily Telegraph revealed on Monday that such a scheme had been recommended by a parliamentary committee.
Treasurer Dominic Perrottet described the measure as “the soul of the budget” and said it was about achieving one of the Premier’s priority targets of reducing childhood obesity by five per cent over the next 10 years.
As foreshadowed, the budget contains a giant increase in health and education infrastructure spending with a $4.4 billion increase — with $7.7 billion on building hospitals and $4.2 billion on building schools over four years.
As well as already-announced upgrades at Campbelltown Hospital, Concord and Tweed, Mr Perrottet announced a $720 million upgrade at Randwick (Prince of Wales) to service the marginal seat of Coogee.
Capital upgrades will also occur at Cooma Hospital, Coffs Harbour, Goulburn, Hornsby, Inverell, Maitland, Macksville, Mudgee, Nepean, Shellharbour, Tweed, Wagga Wagga, Wyong, Lismore, Albury Base Hospital and Sydney Children’s Hospital at Westmead.
There is also planning money for a new hospital at Rouse Hill and upgrades at Griffith, Tumut, Liverpool and St George.
The budget also contains $1.3 billion for small regional projects such as playgrounds and community facilities in a blatant grab to retain votes for the Nationals in the 2019 state election.
As foreshadowed, the surplus for 2016-17 was $4.5 billion with a surplus of $2.7 billion in 2017-18, a $2.1 billion surplus in 2018-19, and $1.5 billion surpluses in 2019-20 and 2020-21.
“This budget is the envy of the Western world,” Mr Perrottet declared in his budget speech.
“Our reform agenda has been a game changer for NSW.
“We are the only state with strong surpluses, negative net debt, a growing net worth, a triple A rating, low unemployment and record investments in services and infrastructure.
“We have come a long way in just six years.
“But we have great ambitions for this state. And our work is not yet complete. This is only the end of the beginning — and I say to the people of NSW — the best is yet to come.
“It’s been said the future belongs to those who hear it coming.
“The government hears the future loud and clear.
“We are not waiting for it to come to us — we are acting now.”
The government says with its housing affordability measures, including stamp duty concessions for first home buyers buying existing homes up to $800,000, the total tax cuts in the budget amount to $1.6 billion over four years.
Mr Perrottet pointed out that the GST collect from the federal government had dropped to 79 cents in the dollar of the amount NSW citizens pay in GST.
If the GST was awarded on a per capita basis, he said, the difference would be $15 billion over four years to NSW government coffers.
The government not only has achieved zero net debt thanks to its $30 billion sale of the electricity industry but is $7.8 billion in the black.
But debt will rise as the major infrastructure projects like the West Connex and North West and South West Metros are built.
The fact the government has committed to selling off at least 51 per cent of West Connex will help ease some of that debt burden.
There is $73 billion over four years to be spent on infrastructure of which $16.1 billion goes on the Metro projects and the West Connex and $3.5 billion goes on the Pacific Highway project.
The government is spending $6.1 million over three years on programs to counter bullying in schools to replace the controversial Safe Schools program and will be overseen by a panel of experts including leading mental health expert Professor Ian Hickie.
As usual, the government has benefited enormously from stamp duty receipts from the housing boom.
The government is projecting an average annual growth rate in stamp duty receipts of 2.8 per cent, putting them over the $11 billion mark.
In terms of residential stamp duty, it was $6.8 billion in 2016-17 and will rise to $7.2 billion next year and up to $8.5 billion in 2020-21 — an average annual growth of 5.4 per cent.
The budget predicts unemployment in NSW will remain at its current level of 4.8 per cent.
It lifts annual cuts required of government departments, known as the “efficiency dividend” from 1.5 to 2 per cent a year — caused, Mr Perrottet said yesterday, by the drop off in GST revenues.
In his press conference, Mr Perrottet said looming sales of the West Connex and stake in the Snowy Hydro scheme to the federal government would enable the government to spend more on infrastructure.
“We embark on tough reform not for the sake of it,” Mr Perrottet said.
“We want our state to be the best place to live, work and raise a family.”
Mr Perrottet said by 2021 NSW would be funding Queensland through the GST to the tune of $1.5 billion a year because the Queensland government refused to sell its assets, meaning it’s worse economic position benefited from the GST funding formula..
“Sure GST revenue is declining — am I happy we’re being penalised for our access — no I’m not.”
He defended the fact there were not more cost of living measures in the budget and pointed to energy rebates still in place for low income families.
“$4.5 billion surplus doesn’t just sit there. (Former Labor treasurer)
Michael Egan ran surpluses because he didn’t invest in infrastructure.”
He said of the active kids rebate that it was “$100 to get our kids involved, get them active.”
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