NSW Liberal leader Mark Speakman slam's Labor 2025-26 ‘Band-Aid' budget
NSW Opposition Leader Mark Speakman has slammed the Labor government's budget as a 'Band-Aid' written in 'red ink' amid soaring cost of living.
Treasurer Daniel Mookhey delivered Labor's third budget on Tuesday, with a new housing developer guarantee scheme and funding for vulnerable children.
In his budget reply speech, Mr Speakman praised the former Coalition government as the state's 'most successful' and accused Labor of failing to deliver more infrastructure.
'Labor has no plan to replace the pipeline of projects that have underpinned job creation, economic growth, and service delivery across the state,' he said on Thursday.
'Instead, under Labor, there's a whopping cut of public infrastructure investment as a share of the economy.'
Mr Speakman described the budget as being 'written in red ink'.
'A budget of debt, not discipline, a budget of vagaries, not vision, a budget that's about papering over the cracks rather than building for the long term.
'A budget putting band aids on the major problems faced by the state, like housing, cost of living, infrastructure and health.
'A budget that will be forgotten, even if the costs, the waste, and the missed opportunities that it presents linger long afterwards.
'Past this parliament and a budget which, after two years in office, shows the mettle of this government.
'A government sleepwalking through its term already out of steam.
'A government more focused on spin and soft congratulations than results, while everyday people see this state go backwards.'
Mr Speakman said Labor had failed to deliver any additional cost of living support, and was 'investing less in the future while letting debt spiral'.
'It's ordinary families who are paying the price while the government is building less, it's borrowing more on its own,' he said.
He went on to describe Labor's projected 2028 budgetary surplus as a 'fairytale'.
He noted there was also no provision in the budget for potential public service wage rises above the government's current offer.
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