Ten-fold increase in NSW relief spending after horror run of natural disasters
In partnership with the Commonwealth, the NSW government has spent $9.5 billion on disaster relief and recovery across the state in the period following the devastating summer fires of 2019.
This represents a 10-fold increase compared with the previous six years. Before 2019, expenditure averaged $154 million a year. After Black Summer, that has risen to $1.6 billion annually.
The significant increase will be outlined in NSW Treasurer Daniel Mookhey's third budget on Tuesday, which despite spending pressures will report a stabilisation of the state's debt, delivering a gross debt improvement of $9.4 billion.
The $188.2 billion of gross debt projected in the 2023 pre-election budget update is set to be $178.8 billion by June 2026, cutting the government's interest payments by $400 million in 2025-26.
Mookhey will deliver his budget on the back of two years of the state's slowest economic growth in three decades, elevated interest rates and cost-of-living pressures.
Mookhey insists he is 'optimistic' about the state's finances and says NSW was able to spend more on improving educational outcomes, as well as investing in hospitals and preventive care to ease the burden on the under-pressure public health system.
Housing will be a key feature of the budget, but the government will also announce establishment of a new Investment Delivery Authority, modelled on the Housing Delivery Authority and designed to accelerate approvals for major projects across all industries, including advanced technologies and energy.
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Sky News AU
a day ago
- Sky News AU
‘So much suffering': King Charles delivers heartbreaking speech marking Victory in the Pacific Day
King Charles has honoured the victims of the 1945 atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki during his historic Victory in the Pacific Day speech. The six minute message, which was recorded earlier this month in the Morning Room at Clarence House, was released on Friday to mark the upcoming 80th anniversary of the end of the second world war. During the address, the 76-year-old monarch reflected on his own Grandfather, King George VI's speech to the nation marking the end of the war eight decades ago. ''The war is over', declared my Grandfather, King George VI, in his address to the nation and Commonwealth on VJ Day eighty years ago today – four short words after six long years of bloodshed, fear and suffering,' the King said. 'Seldom can a simple message have resonated with such a potent mix of relief, celebration, and sorrow for those who never lived to see the glow of freedom's new dawn.' In addition to paying tribute to all lives lost in the global conflict, the King also made particular mention of the victims of the atomic bomb attacks on Japan in the closing days of the war. 'On this landmark anniversary, we should also pause to acknowledge that in the war's final act, an immense price was paid by the citizens of Hiroshima and Nagasaki – a price we pray no nation need ever pay again,' he said. 'But in recalling so much suffering, we must not lose sight of how great was the cause and how sweet the victory. 'For those heroes of VJ Day gave us more than freedom; they left us the example of how it can and must be protected.' The King also emphasised the importance of different cultures and faiths living together as the 'vital lesson of our times'. 'Countries and communities that had never before fought together learned to co-ordinate their efforts across vast distances, faiths and cultural divides,' he said. 'Together they proved that, in times of war and in times of peace, the greatest weapons of all are not the arms you bear, but the arms you link. 'That remains a vital lesson for our times.' The speech comes as US President Donald Trump is set to sit down with Russian President Vladimir Putin in Alaska amid renewed hopes of a possible end to the war in Ukraine and even bilateral nuclear arms control. The location of Friday's meeting is somewhat symbolic – with Alaska sharing a narrow maritime border with Russia through the Bering Strait. The two nations' closest point is between the islands of Little Diomede (Alaska) and Big Diomede (Russia), which are separated by just 3.9 kilometers of water.
The Advertiser
2 days ago
- The Advertiser
Tougher national working with kids scheme by year's end
People banned from holding a working with children check in one jurisdiction will be banned in all under fast-tracked reforms to be delivered by the end of the year. Attorney-General Michelle Rowland announced on Friday her state and territory counterparts had committed to a "long overdue" scheme, where different systems across the nation will communicate with each other. "We now have a moment as a country, as a federation, to get this done," she told reporters in Sydney. "Attorneys-general today agreed to toughening the system by ensuring that if you're banned from holding a working with children check in one jurisdiction, you are banned in all of them." Ms Rowland said her counterparts supported accelerating delivery of the reform by the end of the year. "There is a firm commitment from all states and territories to pull out all stops and we are working together as a team," she said. Education Minister Jason Clare also announced compliance action had been initiated against 30 early childhood centres under laws passed by the federal parliament in July. Under the changes, funding will be stripped from centres not meeting safety standards. Calls for a unified system have been growing following multiple reports of abuse in childcare centres. In one case, a Victorian childcare worker was allowed to retain his working with children check and work in the sector despite a major provider substantiating grooming allegations. Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said the reports were shocking and more needed to be done to fix working with children checks. "It's hopeless, and we need to do better, quite clearly, and these revelations are a wake-up call for state and territory governments in terms of the regulations," he told ABC Radio on Friday. "The reports that we've seen recently have shocked parents and (are) every parent's worst nightmare. That's why we are taking action at the national level." Recommendations for a national scheme were made in 2015 as part of a royal commission into child sexual abuse. Ms Rowland acknowledged the reform had not happened quickly enough and had been "let down by successive governments at all levels". "We are here as representatives of the states, territories and Commonwealth to say we're here to make that right, and that is why we are taking decisive action," she said. A NSW parliamentary inquiry on Thursday was told childcare centres were not checking whether staff were allowed to work with children before they were hired. The inquiry was also told banned workers were able to remain in the industry for years without oversight. Opposition education spokesman Jonno Duniam said "there is no time to waste to put stronger measures in place to protect children in child care". The Greens will move to establish a senate inquiry into the safety and quality of early childhood education when parliament resumes later in August. The nation's education ministers will meet next week to consider further child safety laws for childcare centres. Among the measures being considered are use of CCTV in centres and mandatory child safety training. 1800 RESPECT (1800 737 732) National Sexual Abuse and Redress Support Service 1800 211 028 People banned from holding a working with children check in one jurisdiction will be banned in all under fast-tracked reforms to be delivered by the end of the year. Attorney-General Michelle Rowland announced on Friday her state and territory counterparts had committed to a "long overdue" scheme, where different systems across the nation will communicate with each other. "We now have a moment as a country, as a federation, to get this done," she told reporters in Sydney. "Attorneys-general today agreed to toughening the system by ensuring that if you're banned from holding a working with children check in one jurisdiction, you are banned in all of them." Ms Rowland said her counterparts supported accelerating delivery of the reform by the end of the year. "There is a firm commitment from all states and territories to pull out all stops and we are working together as a team," she said. Education Minister Jason Clare also announced compliance action had been initiated against 30 early childhood centres under laws passed by the federal parliament in July. Under the changes, funding will be stripped from centres not meeting safety standards. Calls for a unified system have been growing following multiple reports of abuse in childcare centres. In one case, a Victorian childcare worker was allowed to retain his working with children check and work in the sector despite a major provider substantiating grooming allegations. Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said the reports were shocking and more needed to be done to fix working with children checks. "It's hopeless, and we need to do better, quite clearly, and these revelations are a wake-up call for state and territory governments in terms of the regulations," he told ABC Radio on Friday. "The reports that we've seen recently have shocked parents and (are) every parent's worst nightmare. That's why we are taking action at the national level." Recommendations for a national scheme were made in 2015 as part of a royal commission into child sexual abuse. Ms Rowland acknowledged the reform had not happened quickly enough and had been "let down by successive governments at all levels". "We are here as representatives of the states, territories and Commonwealth to say we're here to make that right, and that is why we are taking decisive action," she said. A NSW parliamentary inquiry on Thursday was told childcare centres were not checking whether staff were allowed to work with children before they were hired. The inquiry was also told banned workers were able to remain in the industry for years without oversight. Opposition education spokesman Jonno Duniam said "there is no time to waste to put stronger measures in place to protect children in child care". The Greens will move to establish a senate inquiry into the safety and quality of early childhood education when parliament resumes later in August. The nation's education ministers will meet next week to consider further child safety laws for childcare centres. Among the measures being considered are use of CCTV in centres and mandatory child safety training. 1800 RESPECT (1800 737 732) National Sexual Abuse and Redress Support Service 1800 211 028 People banned from holding a working with children check in one jurisdiction will be banned in all under fast-tracked reforms to be delivered by the end of the year. Attorney-General Michelle Rowland announced on Friday her state and territory counterparts had committed to a "long overdue" scheme, where different systems across the nation will communicate with each other. "We now have a moment as a country, as a federation, to get this done," she told reporters in Sydney. "Attorneys-general today agreed to toughening the system by ensuring that if you're banned from holding a working with children check in one jurisdiction, you are banned in all of them." Ms Rowland said her counterparts supported accelerating delivery of the reform by the end of the year. "There is a firm commitment from all states and territories to pull out all stops and we are working together as a team," she said. Education Minister Jason Clare also announced compliance action had been initiated against 30 early childhood centres under laws passed by the federal parliament in July. Under the changes, funding will be stripped from centres not meeting safety standards. Calls for a unified system have been growing following multiple reports of abuse in childcare centres. In one case, a Victorian childcare worker was allowed to retain his working with children check and work in the sector despite a major provider substantiating grooming allegations. Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said the reports were shocking and more needed to be done to fix working with children checks. "It's hopeless, and we need to do better, quite clearly, and these revelations are a wake-up call for state and territory governments in terms of the regulations," he told ABC Radio on Friday. "The reports that we've seen recently have shocked parents and (are) every parent's worst nightmare. That's why we are taking action at the national level." Recommendations for a national scheme were made in 2015 as part of a royal commission into child sexual abuse. Ms Rowland acknowledged the reform had not happened quickly enough and had been "let down by successive governments at all levels". "We are here as representatives of the states, territories and Commonwealth to say we're here to make that right, and that is why we are taking decisive action," she said. A NSW parliamentary inquiry on Thursday was told childcare centres were not checking whether staff were allowed to work with children before they were hired. The inquiry was also told banned workers were able to remain in the industry for years without oversight. Opposition education spokesman Jonno Duniam said "there is no time to waste to put stronger measures in place to protect children in child care". The Greens will move to establish a senate inquiry into the safety and quality of early childhood education when parliament resumes later in August. The nation's education ministers will meet next week to consider further child safety laws for childcare centres. Among the measures being considered are use of CCTV in centres and mandatory child safety training. 1800 RESPECT (1800 737 732) National Sexual Abuse and Redress Support Service 1800 211 028 People banned from holding a working with children check in one jurisdiction will be banned in all under fast-tracked reforms to be delivered by the end of the year. Attorney-General Michelle Rowland announced on Friday her state and territory counterparts had committed to a "long overdue" scheme, where different systems across the nation will communicate with each other. "We now have a moment as a country, as a federation, to get this done," she told reporters in Sydney. "Attorneys-general today agreed to toughening the system by ensuring that if you're banned from holding a working with children check in one jurisdiction, you are banned in all of them." Ms Rowland said her counterparts supported accelerating delivery of the reform by the end of the year. "There is a firm commitment from all states and territories to pull out all stops and we are working together as a team," she said. Education Minister Jason Clare also announced compliance action had been initiated against 30 early childhood centres under laws passed by the federal parliament in July. Under the changes, funding will be stripped from centres not meeting safety standards. Calls for a unified system have been growing following multiple reports of abuse in childcare centres. In one case, a Victorian childcare worker was allowed to retain his working with children check and work in the sector despite a major provider substantiating grooming allegations. Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said the reports were shocking and more needed to be done to fix working with children checks. "It's hopeless, and we need to do better, quite clearly, and these revelations are a wake-up call for state and territory governments in terms of the regulations," he told ABC Radio on Friday. "The reports that we've seen recently have shocked parents and (are) every parent's worst nightmare. That's why we are taking action at the national level." Recommendations for a national scheme were made in 2015 as part of a royal commission into child sexual abuse. Ms Rowland acknowledged the reform had not happened quickly enough and had been "let down by successive governments at all levels". "We are here as representatives of the states, territories and Commonwealth to say we're here to make that right, and that is why we are taking decisive action," she said. A NSW parliamentary inquiry on Thursday was told childcare centres were not checking whether staff were allowed to work with children before they were hired. The inquiry was also told banned workers were able to remain in the industry for years without oversight. Opposition education spokesman Jonno Duniam said "there is no time to waste to put stronger measures in place to protect children in child care". The Greens will move to establish a senate inquiry into the safety and quality of early childhood education when parliament resumes later in August. The nation's education ministers will meet next week to consider further child safety laws for childcare centres. Among the measures being considered are use of CCTV in centres and mandatory child safety training. 1800 RESPECT (1800 737 732) National Sexual Abuse and Redress Support Service 1800 211 028
ABC News
2 days ago
- ABC News
Strahan locals welcome Macquarie Harbour fish farm decision
The Commonwealth has approved the continuation of salmon farming in Macquarie Harbour, bringing to an end a reconsideration request by environmental groups.
