By Sean Nicholls
The NSW budget surplus for last financial year has come in $1.2 billion higher than estimated, mainly due to lower than expected expenses but also higher than forecast revenue from taxes, dividends and fines.
Treasurer Dominic Perrottet on Tuesday tabled the final result for 2016-17 as a surplus of $5.7 billion, up from the $4.5 billion announced in the June budget.
The final report on the state's finances for 2016-17 says that the better result was due to expenses falling by $985 million and revenue increasing by $131 million.
Transactions from "discontinuing operations" contributed a further $136 million.
NSW Treasurer Dominic Perrottet.Credit: Geoff Jones
Discontinuing operations during 2016-17 were electricity firms Ausgrid and Endeavour, the government super scheme Pillar and the Land and Property Information service, all of which were privatised.
The report said the revenue increase from the June estimate was mainly a result of higher taxes and levies, dividends and distributions and fines and fees.
However, this increase was "largely offset" by lower grants and subsidies revenue and lower sales of goods and services.
The reduction in expenses was down to "lower grants and subsidies expenditure across a range of agencies", lower claims against the government self-insurance agency SiCorp and "re-profiling of rail projects" within Transport for NSW.
Mr Perrottet said the stronger budget position "means we can continue to invest in public transport, vital roads, schools and hospitals at levels NSW has never seen before".
He said the increase "will continue to be directed to infrastructure delivery and frontline services".
"Since we came to office, our plan has been to build the strongest possible economy to secure the state's future and that's precisely what today's result allows us to do," he said.
The final result has also seen an improvement in NSW's net debt position.
The general government sector has net debt of negative $9.3 billion at June 30 this year.
"This is an improvement of $1.5 billion from the forecast position in the 2017-18 budget," Mr Perrottet said.
The hefty 2016-17 surplus is thanks largely to stamp duty revenues from the part-privatisation of Ausgrid and Endeavour.
The budget forward estimates will be updated at the half-yearly review in December.
The improved budget result for 2016-17 comes after NSW's Triple A credit rating was reaffirmed by Moody's last week.
On Monday NSW was again ranked as Australia's top performing state economy in Commsec's State of the State's report.
The report found NSW led on retail trade, equipment investment and dwelling starts and a jobless rate of 4.6 per cent.