NSW Pledges Billions Towards Housing Sector to Deal With Affordability

New South Wales (NSW) is to head into its sixth straight year in deficit, something state Labor Treasurer Daniel Mookhey blames entirely on the Commonwealth Grants Commission’s decision to cut NSW’s share of GST revenues by $11.9 billion over the next four years. The treasurer has branded this decision an “absurdity” which would impose “austerity” on the state. The state’s Budget, delivered by Mr. Mookhey on June 18, says the deficit of $9.7 billion will gradually reduce to $1.5 billion by 2027/28. This year the state will be $3.6 billion in the red (down from the $0.5 billion surplus projected in the 2023/24 Half-Yearly Review). In response, the Budget announced the suspension of the remaining contributions to the $15 billion NSW Generations Fund and instead “redirects [it] towards infrastructure investment and essential services.”...