The NSW government has flagged a raft of big-ticket spending items in its first budget.
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EDUCATION:
* A $3.5 billion boost will fund more than 60 schools either being built or upgraded over the next four years in Sydney's west and southwest with a further $1.4 billion to upgrade or build regional public schools
* Teachers will receive a big pay rise, with some becoming the best-paid in the country
* Parents of three-year-olds in pre-school will receive $500 subsidies using money from a fund established by the former coalition government
HEALTH:
* Four hospitals will share in $3 billion to improve services in western Sydney, including more than $1 billion to rebuild the Bankstown-Lidcombe Hospital on a new site
* Healthcare study subsidies worth $4000 a year for new students and a one-off $8000 for existing students will be offered costing $121.9 million over five years
* Women's health centres will receive a funding boost of $34.3 million to help increase staff numbers and reduce counselling waitlists
TRANSPORT:
* $1.1 billion will be diverted from within the transport budget to convert the Bankstown rail line into a driverless metro by October 2025
* The state-owned Transport Asset Holding Entity of NSW will become a not-for-profit entity, estimated to reduce state debt by more than $4 billion over four years
* Fares across the Opal ticketing system will be hiked from October 16 by an average of 3.7 per cent to help fund rail service upgrades
REGIONAL:
* The NSW Reconstruction Authority will get a $115 million boost to help prepare for and clean up in the wake of natural disasters
* $438.6 million has been pledged for an additional 500 paramedics in rural and regional areas to help improve ambulance response times for life-threatening conditions
* Plans to raise the wall of Wyangala Dam, near Cowra in the state's central-west, by 10m have been scrapped
ENERGY:
* $1.8 billion will be set aside to build power lines, batteries and other renewable energy infrastructure, including $1 billion to establish an Energy Security Corporation
* Coal royalties will be hiked in NSW for the first time in almost 15 years, forecast to leave the state budget more than $2.7 billion better off over four years
SOCIAL SERVICES:
* $200 million will be spent to sustain out-of-home care throughout 2023/24, supporting vulnerable kids who can no longer live at home
INVESTMENTS:
* An overhaul of how NSW manages $108 billion of public money in investment funds could reduce budget contributions by $1.1 billion over four years.
Australian Associated Press
