NSW Labor’s bungled costings for its public sector wages, education, health and tolls policies will blow a black hole in the budget worth up to $12.7 billion.
Treasurer Matt Kean said Opposition Leader Chris Minns has cooked the books on Labor’s signature election commitments while ruling out increasing borrowings and raising taxes to pay for them.
“The people of NSW cannot afford to pay the price of Chris Minns’ $12.7 billion budget black hole. Labor’s half-baked commitments are arecipe for disaster that will stall our economy and take NSW backwards,” Mr Kean said.
“Labor’s plan to scrap the public sector wages cap alone would blow an $8.6 billion black hole in the State’s budget if wages were tied to inflation.
“Their costings are spiralling out of control and taxpayers will end up paying for it, whether it's through cut metros, underfunded health infrastructure, half-costed preschools or regional roads to nowhere.”
Minister for Regional Health Bronnie Taylor said Labor’s commitment to hospital staffing levels will cost taxpayers around $1 billion over four years, but Chris Minns committed just $175 million in September last year, three weeks before the Parliamentary Budget Office began costing policy.
“Labor’s safe staffing promise will cost more than six times the figure Chris Minns claimed in September. Labor would need to employ 2,363 additional nurses and midwives to meet their promise - they have committed to 1,200,” Mrs Taylor said.
“Regional NSW will pay the price for Labor’s financial mismanagement when they cut projects in the bush to fill a hole in their budget.”
Some of Labor’s school building commitments are underfunded by at least 75%, and their Education Future Fund is at least $2.25 billion short on what it would take to achieve Labor’s aims.
Labor would also cut the Liberal and Nationals Government’s landmark school tutoring program by $200 million this year alone, meaning up to 100,000 kids would miss out.
Minister for Education and Early Learning Sarah Mitchell said families need to know that Labor’s sums don’t add up.
"Whether it's underfunding school projects by tens of millions or denying thousands of our students catch up classes, Labor are already under-delivering for the students of NSW," Ms Mitchell said.
“Chris Minns needs to come clean with parents, students and the communities he's made promises to on what they will miss out on or how they intend to fill the funding gaps.
“This is just further evidence that Labor can’t be trusted, especially given their track record of closing 90 schools in the State when they were last in government.”
Analysis undertaken by the NSW Government has revealed Labor’s proposed tolls policy will cost at least $485 million over two years, significantly higher than the $147 million over two years Labor claimed when releasing the policy in early February, creating a $338 million black hole.
Minister for Metropolitan Roads Natalie Ward said it’s clearer than ever that Labor is not up to the task of governing.
“If Labor can’t cost their own key tolls policy, they certainly won’t be able to manage the country’s largest economy,” Mrs Ward said.
“Labor also plans to use the tolls from the Sydney Harbour Bridge and Sydney Harbour Tunnel but can’t say how they will maintain the iconic assets without that revenue. That is $122 million annually that Labor will have to find somewhere if they want to guarantee safety across these critical harbour crossings.”
Minister for Emergency Services and Resilience Steph Cooke said Labor is promising 600 new firefighters but the $51 million they have committed over the next three years would only cover the starting salary for 250.
“Paying wages is just the start, those firefighters wouldn’t be trained, they wouldn’t have uniforms and they wouldn’t have access to workers compensation,” Ms Cooke said.
“When that’s factored in, Labor’s commitment would only provide around 100 firefighters. As usual, Labor can’t be trusted with numbers.”