Labor vows to slash contractors to save cash

At the party’s official campaign launch, Labor leader Chris Minns has delivered good news for healthcare students but bad news for government contractors.

HECS help for healthcare students and a crackdown on government contractors have led Labor leader Chris Minns’s official pitch to become Premier at the party’s campaign launch on Sunday.

Flanked by Prime Minister Anthony Albanese, his frontbench and family, Mr Minns delivered his spiel to the party’s faithful in Hurtsville, in Sydney’s south.

If elected at the polls in 19 days, a Labor government vowed to slash the government’s reliance on contractors by 25 per cent, claiming it will secure $1.6bn in saving.

NSW Labor leader Chris Minns with wife Anna. Picture: Jonathan Ng

The cutbacks come after Mr Minns revealed he would not go ahead with a number of costly infrastructure projects promised by the Coalition in a move that signals Labor’s attempt to dismantle the government’s narrative that they cannot manage money.

“NSW Labor recognises that we will have to work with the private sector in government, but we must get the budget back under control while reinvesting the savings to repair our schools and hospitals,” he said.

“We will only spend within our means, not make promises no-one believes and government can’t keep.”

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese welcomes NSW Labor leader Chris Minns. Picture: Jonathan Ng

Treasurer hopeful Daniel Mookhey added: “The Public Service Commission said as early as 2017 that contingent labour should only be used when it is the most efficient and effective option available to respond to an agency’s business needs. It also recommended that agencies’ use contingent labour when informed by proper workforce planning.”

The savings came alongside a vow to fork out study subsidies to drive down higher education debt for healthcare workers.

“Students undertaking a healthcare degree will be eligible for a subsidy on their study expenses, if they commit to working a minimum of five years in the NSW public health system,” he said.

“This includes students studying paramedicine, nursing, midwifery, and allied health. Every year, 2,000 healthcare students will be eligible to apply for a study subsidy of $12,000 to help pay for their degree.”

Mr Minns also had an election sweetener for existing students, adding: “Because our health system simply can’t wait – current students already enrolled can access a one off payment of $8,000 when they graduate – open to 2,000 places a year for the next three years – if they make the same commitment.”

The announcement resembles — but falls short of replicating — a similar move from Victoria’s Labor government where Premier Daniel Andrews promised to pay the entire HECS debt for more than 10,000 nursing and midwifery graduates.