NSW faces economic crisis when JobKeeper ends
A senior minister has warned NSW must think beyond a construction-led economic recovery because the looming end of the JobKeeper program will throw the state into turmoil unless we reinvent ourselves.
NSW
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NSW is heading towards an “iceberg” in September when the federal JobKeeper program ends, a senior NSW minister has warned, saying thousands of unemployed workers and industries would still be in crisis.
Victor Dominello — one of the ministers most forceful about reopening NSW — has declared NSW must reinvent itself to “phoenix out of this crisis”, saying the state cannot simply “spend its way” out of a COVID-19 recession.
Mr Dominello outlined his vision for NSW to reinvent itself as a “smart state”, harnessing a new digital industry to drive productivity.
“On the horizon are more economic and social icebergs,” Mr Dominello said.
“We are faced with the collapse of tourism, the obvious challenges to our huge international student market and the looming end of the JobKeeper scheme — all set against declining global growth.
“We’re in la-la land if we think all of a sudden we’re going to putty up that massive hole caused by the world shutting down.
“There will be tourism jobs lost that will never return. Even small businesses like catering companies may not come back if we don’t have big weddings.
“We can’t sit back and say, ‘don’t worry everyone, just take a holiday’.”
Mr Dominello has identified digital industry as “the new golden egg” and believes NSW could lead the way in establishing tech as a new major industry for the country.
He believes the state needs to be broader in its thinking than just focusing on a construction-led recovery.
“Alongside the important infrastructure opportunities in roads, trains and bridges, now is the time to reform our economy and government — and digital is the linchpin,” he said.
Mr Dominello described how the uptake of digital technology, sped up by COVID-enforced social distancing, was one green shoot in the economy that could be nurtured instead of simply focusing on building projects.
“We’ve got to be a smart nation and a smart state — NSW is already way ahead of the pack but we’ve got to accelerate it,” he said.
“We need to use the time ahead of us to re-skill and reframe the future of this state.”
Mr Dominello doubled down on the pay freeze for public servants, saying it was “absolutely the right call” and that he was focused on his concerns about Centrelink queues rather than protesters outside parliament.
He also raised concerns about an economic slowdown tied to a decline in population, saying population growth had fuelled the state’s housing growth and the demand for construction would be challenged by the shortfall.