The New South Wales Government has released the 2024-25 Budget Infrastructure Statement, which details $119.4 billion of investment over four years through the Essential Infrastructure Plan to rebuild essential services, support the delivery of housing and grow existing communities.
The State Government has said that its capital program has been realigned to support its objective of delivering more homes close to transport, schools, services and jobs and that building better communities means more neighbourhoods around major transport investments.
The infrastructure program is designed to be people-centred and will focus on building a better New South Wales with places delivering high-quality education, healthcare, arts and culture, and beautiful open and green places. The commitment to building better communities includes investment in regional centres and Western Sydney, which is the fastest-growing region in the country.
The State Government said that housing is the biggest single cost of living pressure for the community, with mortgage or rent payments the largest expense for most households. Additionally, housing supply is not matching demand, which is impacting house prices and rents.
This Budget is focussed on increasing the supply of safe, affordable housing. The New South Wales Government said that it is linking housing targets, infrastructure and planning reform to support delivery of well-located, well-designed, and well-built homes. This Budget is also set to prioritise delivery of enabling infrastructure for housing including roads, water, and sewer services.
The 2024-25 Budget invests in government delivery of social and affordable housing across Greater Sydney and regional New South Wales.
The State Government said that it is also directing much needed investment towards the state’s critically important schools and hospitals. School students will benefit from a $9.5 billion investment over four years to support the planning and delivery of schools, including a $1 billion maintenance blitz that will deliver upgrades in communities across New South Wales.
The health system will benefit from $13.4 billion over four years for hospitals and health facilities including $200.1 million for healthcare worker housing that attracts key workers to New South Wales’ regions and helps address the housing crisis in these communities.
The State Government has said that its infrastructure program continues responsible long-term investment to rebuild essential services that support quality of life and housing for all people in New South Wales. In addition to a significant investment in new assets, this Budget is designed to extract more value from existing infrastructure through investment in asset renewal, critical asset maintenance and planning reforms that focus on maximising value from existing infrastructure capacity and building more houses where people want to live.
Industry response
The Civil Contractors Federation New South Wales has welcomed the $119 billion essential infrastructure investment outlined in the Budget but said that it will not be delivered unless the State Government removes the red tape that cuts out local contractors and makes construction slow and unaffordable.
Civil Constructors Federation New South Wales CEO, Kylie Yates said that New South Wales has the opportunity to build more houses, schools and hospitals, but only if it can overhaul the pipeline which is “deathly slow” and clogged by bureaucratic roadblocks.
“Despite the opportunities, local contractors are currently locked out of one in two state government projects due to costly red tape and lack of suitable projects coming to market.
“We commend the State Government for this year’s State Budget in difficult circumstances and look forward to working with them to help improve infrastructure delivery in New South Wales.”
Ms Yates said that it’s great to see new road projects announced, including a $661 million upgrade to Elizabeth Drive to provide access to Western Sydney Airport and the widening of Mamre Road between Erskine Park Road and Kerrs Road.
“We support the funding committed to plan further improvements to regional roads including the Golden Highway from Dubbo to Newcastle, Hume Highway and Mount Ousley.
“Infrastructure investment creates local jobs and keeps our local economy thriving, so we applaud the State Government’s continued commitment to a strong pipeline.
“In rolling out this budget over the next four years, civil contractors urge the New South Wales Government to deliver on its promise to support local industry.
“Building a better New South Wales means releasing construction tender packages of all sizes and cutting red tape so that local businesses can win head contract opportunities in their own state.”
Infrastructure Partnerships Australia CEO, Adrian Dwyer, said that the Treasurer has delivered a “no surprises” Budget, continuing the state and federal theme of limited new infrastructure dollars amid a biting fiscal reality.
“If you read closely, you’ll find that last year’s Budget set the scene for this year’s; we were told to expect no surprises and no surprises were forthcoming,” Mr Dwyer said.
“While New South Wales and Queensland were the only two states to receive less of the GST revenue pie than last year, approaches to their respective budgets have been markedly different.
“In a tale of two states, Treasurer Mookhey’s spending tap produces a steady flow in the name of fiscal responsibility in stark contrast to the Queensland Government’s cash splash last week.
“The narrative of this Budget was foretold at the time of the announcement of the redistribution of the GST revenue between the states and territories, with the New South Wales Treasurer warning that the state would ultimately have to absorb the lost revenue.”
Mr Dwyer said that the 2024-25 New South Wales Budget is marked by limited new infrastructure projects.
“In its place, investment has been directed to the less flashy, but no less necessary, task of maintaining and upgrading existing transport and social infrastructure.
“Infrastructure Partnerships Australia’s analysis of the 2024-25 Budget indicates a minor increase of one per cent or $872 million in infrastructure funding on the allocation in the 2023-24 Budget, bringing general government infrastructure funding to $86.4 billion over the next four years.
“This funding represents 16 per cent of the New South Wales Government’s total general government expenditure, a slight decline on the previous budget share of 16.6 per cent and below the ten-year average of 16.5 per cent.”
Image: Alistair McLellan/shutterstock.com
