NSW Budget preview: Premier promises focus on ‘families and the future’

The state budget will include hip pocket relief while tackling reform of government services to “set our state up for success,” Premier Dominic Perrottet has revealed.

Families will be front and centre of next month’s state budget, with cost of living ­relief set to be delivered alongside significant service reforms to make it easier to deal with the government.

Premier Dominic Perrottet has declared next month’s budget will “focus on the future,” delivering on the key themes of health, housing ­affordability and education.

Mr Perrottet is working hand in glove with Treasurer Matt Kean on the upcoming budget, the last before voters go to the polls in March next year. While billions have been spent in the response to recent flooding disasters and the pandemic, a post-Covid confidence boom has put the state on the trajectory for a surplus.

Mr Perrottet wants his budget to “tap into” the sense of optimism he sees in the community. “People want positivity going forward, and I think there’s that real sense of confidence,” he told The Daily Telegraph.

He acknowledged rising interest rates will pose a “challenging time” for many, promising to “understand the needs and concerns that families are facing” in the upcoming budget.

NSW Premier Dominic Perrottet bought flowers from Engadine florists Leanne Buchan, (left) and Kim Key for Mother's Day. Picture: David Swift

“What’s always important in a budget is that you meet people where they’re at,” he said.

“The government’s budget will be focused on families and focused on the future.”

It is expected to include short term measures to boost family budgets, but also outline significant reform to how government services are delivered, something Mr Perrottet says will “set our state up for success”.

The Daily Telegraph can also reveal that Mr Perrottet is leading the charge for post-Covid reforms to how the states and Commonwealth government deliver services.

He said state and territory leaders have agreed to pursue a major overhaul of healthcare which could involve GPs being stationed in hospitals.

At their most recent meeting, state and territory leaders resolved to conduct wide ranging reviews of their healthcare systems to lobby the federal government for ­reform.

The Premier sat down with Daily Telegraph journalist James O’Doherty for an exclusive pre-Budget interview. Picture: David Swift

“The problem isn’t that the federal and state health systems aren’t working well alongside each other, they’re working against each other. And that leads to poor outcomes,” Mr Perrottet said.

Mr Perrottet said there needs to be “greater co-ordination” between the GP network and state public health systems.

That “could mean GPs in public hospital sites,” he said.

Mr Perrottet also wants to renew his push for childcare reform after this month’s federal election, declaring that it would make “a lot more sense” if “you had one level of government responsible for the lot, from birth to ­graduation”.

He said state and territory leaders all agreed that childcare needs to be reformed, but the group decided to pursue improvements to healthcare delivery first.