The NSW Government is setting the stage for the state’s prosperity, delivering a transformational budget that will secure a brighter future for the Dubbo electorate by offering steadfast support for families and businesses.
Nationals Member for Dubbo Dugald Saunders has welcomed the 2022-23 NSW Budget’s blueprint for reform to create opportunity and help our people prosper.
“This Budget takes the lessons of COVID-19, fire and floods, and builds on a decade of responsible economic management to deliver a brighter future for the people of the Dubbo electorate,” Mr Saunders said.
Highlights include:
• $8.5 million to continue delivery of the $306.3 million Dubbo Health Service redevelopment (Stages 1 to 4, car park and Cancer Centre)
• $8 million to continue construction of overtaking lanes between Narromine and Dubbo on the Mitchell Highway
• $6 million upgrade to biomedical equipment across the Western NSW Local Health District to improve reliability and ensure better care and outcomes for patients in major hospitals and smaller rural communities
• Almost $10 million to continue our investment in social housing across the Dubbo electorate
• $7.8 million to commence construction on the Rawsonville Bridge
• $31.7 million for the new purpose-built office hub in Dubbo, to accommodate 650 workers from across government agencies, improving cross-agency collaboration and service delivery across western New South Wales
• $32.8 million to commence construction of the new Dubbo Bridge on the Newell Highway over the Macquarie River, Dubbo (state and federally funded)
• $68.4 million for the planning and construction of overtaking lanes along the full length of the Newell Highway (state and federally funded), including in the Central West
• $399.1 million in capital expenditure ($835.6 million over four years) to continue delivery of a new modern Regional Rail Fleet to replace the ageing XPT, XPLORER and Endeavour trains and construct the new purpose-built Mindyarra Maintenance Centre in Dubbo
• Almost $27.5 million for enhancements to the Main Western Rail Line Capacity between Lithgow, Dubbo and Parkes
• $23.8 million for the construction of the $35 million NSW Police Dubbo Regional Education and Training Centre
• $17 million to enhance the Visitor Experience at Taronga Western Plains Zoo – including $7.9 million for the Platypus Visitor and Education Centre
• Additional $19.3 million for NSW Centre for Wildlife Rescue, Conservation Medicine and Species Recovery at Taronga Zoo and Taronga Western Plains Zoo
“The NSW Government is continuing to invest in projects that connect communities to one another, improve productivity, and increase connections to national and international markets through the movement of goods and people,” Mr Saunders said.
“This Budget also commits an extra $1.3 billion for the next generation of the Regional Growth Fund to build on the success of the program to date and help make regional New South Wales an even better place to live.
“This funding proves this government’s commitment to building a safer and stronger regional NSW.”
This expansion will continue to invest in those areas that matter most to local communities, including:
• $250 million to expand the Stronger Country Communities Fund, supporting grassroots projects to reinvigorate rural communities,
• $230 million to support tourism development projects and enabling infrastructure, leveraging recent significant growth in regional tourism and supporting job creation,
• $220 million to expand the Resources for Regions program, supporting the ongoing prosperity of mining communities by improving economic opportunities and local amenities, and creating positive social outcomes,
• $175 million for economic activation, providing investment to existing key industries in regional New South Wales,
• $100 million for the Regional Job Creation Fund to support NSW businesses to grow and incentivise interstate and international businesses to invest in regional New South Wales,
• $65 million for Regional Events Acceleration to allow it to reach a wider audience across the regions,
• $20 million to support projects and events for the activation of business opportunities in community facilities,
• $18.4 million for local community and cultural events to bring people together,
• $9.6 million to support and strengthen regional communities and councils, including priority projects and partnerships.
“We’re also continuing to invest in the ongoing recovery from the Black Summer bushfires, which really impacted the Mid-Western region, while emergency service personnel from right across the electorate rallied to assist the hardest hit communities around the state,” Mr Saunders said.
The Government has accepted all 76 recommendations of the NSW Bushfire Inquiry and, in partnership with the Commonwealth Government, committed a further $315.2 million.
This Budget also provides comprehensive measures to boost family budgets, and support for communities impacted by floods. Other highlights include:
• $33 billion investment in health to help in recruiting more than 10,000 full-time equivalent staff to hospitals, NSW Ambulance and health services across the State, including $2.4 billion over 10 years to attract doctors and nurses to rural and regional hospitals, to make sure no matter where a person lives they have access to quality healthcare,
• $16.5 billion over 10 years to break the barriers to opportunity for women and help give our children the best start in life, including investing in affordable and accessible childcare, and creating a universal year of pre-kindergarten in the year before school,
• More than $7.2 billion in cost-of-living measures, including the Premier’s Back to School program and new Energy Bill Buster Program,
• $2.8 billion to help more families find a place to call home, including $728.6 million for tax reform to help people own their first home, provide new and upgraded social homes, and new and upgraded homes in regional areas for frontline workers and for First Nations people,
• $1.2 billion to establish the Transmission Acceleration Facility, which will unlock massive investments in our electricity system and build our renewable energy zones—the power stations of the future,
• $715.8 million for First Nations policies and programs,
• $703.4 million for the Future Economy Fund—while many of the industries of the future haven’t been thought of yet, this Fund will mean countless of them will be created here,
• $128 million for the Energy Buster program to help households cut energy bills by installing rooftop solar and energy efficient appliances.
