The New South Wales (NSW) deficit is expected to worsen by $1.3 billion over this financial year and the next after Treasury downgraded its projections for the budget in a pre-election update.
The update, coming ahead of the March 25 poll, shows the estimated deficit for 2022/23 has grown by $668 million (US$440 million) to $12.03 billion since the last update in February.
The deficit for the upcoming financial year is now forecast at $7.12 billion, an increase of $615 million. This takes the total worsening in the state’s books to $1.3 billion after Treasury predicted a drop in coal royalty revenue for those two years.
The state’s debt for this financial year has jumped by $798 million to $79.2 billion, compared with the February estimate. That debt is now expected to climb to $108.7 billion by 2024/25, after being upwardly revised by $1.3 billion from the half-yearly review.
Pre-election budget updates are required from the state’s treasury after the suspension of the NSW parliament.
With sixteen days until NSW voters head to polling booths, Labor seized on the analysis, accusing the coalition of presiding over surging debt since taking office in 2011.
The party also raised concerns over $50 billion worth of infrastructure projects without allocated funding in the budget, labelling it a “budget black hole”.
“Debt and deficit have surged under (Treasurer) Matt Kean and the NSW Liberals,” shadow treasurer Daniel Mookhey said.
“Under (Premier) Dominic Perrottet and Matt Kean, taxes, tolls, fees, fines and charges are all up.
“With the Liberals’ $50 billion budget black hole, NSW taxpayers will have to expect more debt, more privatisation or both. Either way, we all pay.”
Meanwhile, a potential key player in which party forms the next government has defended not committing herself to Labor or the coalition.
Teal independent Karen Freyer wants to end the Liberal Party’s 78-year stranglehold on the Vaucluse electorate in Sydney’s eastern suburbs.
But she pushed back during a candidate debate when repeatedly urged to say which party she would support if neither claimed the required 47 seats on March 25.
Polling shows minority government is the most likely outcome.
“I know everyone is desperate to pigeonhole me, but I’m not a politician; I’m an independent,” Freyer told a candidates’ debate on Wednesday night.
“I’m not here to represent a political party, I am not aligning myself with a political party.”
Meanwhile, a radio system fault on Sydney’s train network on Wednesday thrust transport issues back on the political agenda.
The fault, which forced all trains to stop for more than an hour, was “extremely rare”, the rail operator said.
But it led Labor to say it was another example of the chaos and disruption commuters have had to endure under the coalition government.
