Having outlined the NSW government's four-year plan to turn deficit into surplus, Treasurer Dominic Perrottet will now begin making the case for his budget in the face of Labor cost of living attacks.
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Tuesday's 2021/22 budget confirmed a deficit of $7.9 billion for the current year, jumping to $8.6 billion for the following 12 months.
The government will then aim for a surplus of $466 million in 2024/25 thanks to an economy unshackled by pandemic-related restrictions.
It has already enjoyed an unexpectedly large improvement in budget figures, with NSW's suppression of COVID-19 and government stimulus prompting increases to GST, stamp duty and payroll tax receipts.
The government initially forecast a $16 billion deficit for the current year before revising down its forecast to $13.3 billion in February's half-yearly review.
Mr Perrottet on Tuesday argued the government produced "a budget with a heart" that would continue to support residents amid the pandemic, but would also seek to drive future growth and innovation.
He will now begin to make the public case for the budget, with an address on Wednesday to the Committee for Economic Development of Australia.
However the Labor opposition says the government has not done enough on debt, housing affordability, the cost of living or local manufacturing.
Labor said the budget's theme was "tolls, fees, fines and taxes" and used question time on Tuesday to grill Mr Perrottet on tolls and privatisation plans.
The opposition will on Wednesday again question Mr Perrottet in parliament.
"The government makes gestures in terms of the cost of living, but it's nothing in comparison to the quantum they're taking out of the pockets of the people of NSW. It pales in comparison," Opposition Leader Chris Minns told reporters.
Mr Perrottet rebutted Labor's argument, saying the government had included some $6 billion in cost of living relief in the budget.
The state's unions also hit out at the reinstatement of the 2.5 per cent pay rise cap for public workers, reiterating it should be scrapped entirely.
Costing $2.7 billion over four years, the annual pay rise for NSW's 400,000 public sector workers constitutes the budget's largest new measure.
Other measures confirmed on Tuesday include the provision of five days' leave for NSW public sector workers who suffer a miscarriage or stillbirth, as well as additional leave for parents whose babies are born prematurely.
The budget papers also reconfirmed a $490 million program to drive uptake of electric vehicles, including stamp duty exemptions and rebates.
Yet despite the treasurer's confidence, the budget acknowledges risks to the government's outlook which could "postpone, if not derail, the recovery".
These include the emergence of new COVID-19 variants which are more difficult to suppress, prolonging outbreaks and restrictions.
Forecasting the resumption of international travel in mid-2022, the budget cautions that a one-year delay could hamper economic growth by 0.9 per cent and send unemployment one percentage point higher.
Australian Associated Press
