Tuesday, 19 September 2023
The Minns Labor Government has delivered their first budget, and the South Coast is finally
back on the map.
This Budget represents the first step in the Government's plan to improve essential services
across NSW this Budget will:
• Make at least 229 teachers and support staff permanent in schools across the South
Coast.
• Commits $115 million for Disaster Recovery and Preparedness across regional and rural
NSW.
• Ensures we can make 1,112 temporary nurses and midwife positions permanent and
recruit an extra 1,200 nurses to deliver Safe Staffing Levels in our hospitals.
• Enables us to recruit an extra 500 rural and regional paramedics right across NSW.
• Provides wage rises for around 4,050 essential workers across the South Coast.
School Building Program
The Minns Labor Government will invest more than $1.4 billion over four years to deliver a
massive boost to new and upgraded schools for regional NSW, this comes after 12 years of
neglect under the former Liberal National Government.
In the South Coast electorate, this will include upgrades to address overcrowding and
improve ageing facilities to the following South Coast schools.
• Vincentia High School
• Ulladulla High School
• Ulladulla Public School
• Milton Public School
• Opening the former Shoalhaven Anglican School site for public education
• Budawang School relocation
This announcement will also include a brand-new Primary School and Pre-school for Nowra.
New Emergency Fund to Prioritise Regional Road Repair and
Upgrades
The Minns Labor Government will prioritise spending on regional roads with more than $700
million in new funding to upgrade and maintain regional roads.
A new Regional Emergency Road Repair Fund (RERRF) will deliver $390 million directly into
the hands of regional and rural councils for urgent road and pothole repairs, expanding the
total fund for road repairs to $670 million.
The RERRF funding will be shared across all 95 eligible regional councils and authorities,
based on the total kilometres of regional and local roads they are responsible for managing.
This funding commitment will ensure the roads used by regional communities daily are
efficient, safe, and reliable so people can travel around town, go to work, education, and
healthcare, visit their family and friends, and keep our supply chains moving.
Maintenance work funded under the new program may include heavy road patching,
reshaping, and smoothing unsealed roads, carrying out work to improve drainage from the
road surface, rehabilitating sections of road and resurfacing work.
Additionally, the NSW Government will create a new $334 million Regional Roads Fund for
councils to build new roads and roundabouts, replace or repair old bridges and improve
safety at crash blackspots in rural and regional areas.
In the South Coast electorate, this will include.
• $12 million for planning and early work on the East Nowra Sub Arterial (ENSA) Road
project linking East Nowra to the Nowra CBD.
• $135.6 million for the Jervis Bay Intersection upgrade (State and Federal funding)
• $55.2 million to continue the Nowra Bridge project.
• $5 million to build shared pathways in six location across the South Coast, including
Kioloa, Callala, Myola, Dolphin Point, Narrawallee and Old Southern Road Nowra
• $10 million for the Milton-Ulladulla bypass.
• An additional $4.6 million to Shoalhaven City Council to help fix local roads.
Health Funding
The Minns Labor Government will make good on its healthcare commitments for the South
Coast in this budget.
• $438 million for the Shoalhaven Hospital redevelopment
• $7.5 million for the Milton-Ulladulla Hospital upgrades
• On-going funding for vital women’s health centres
The upgrade to Milton Hospital will include.
• A CT scanner
• $1.5 million to upgrade the Community Cancer Services Centre; and
• $500,000 for facility master planning, including the return of birthing services
Housing
Housing affordability and availability is the biggest single pressure facing household
budgets, and on the South Coast we all know this has reached a crisis point. The Minns Labor
Government is determined to help.
For the South Coast, this will mean.
• $30 million for the Build to Rent trial on the South Coast, for our essential workers.
• Upgrades to social housing stock on the South Coast.
• People buying their first home will save up to $30,735 through an expanded First
Home Buyers Assistance Scheme
• The Faster Planning Program, Essential Housing package, and $2.2 billion investment
in new housing and infrastructure will begin to address the historic neglect in new
housing supply across NSW.
• The Government is supporting long-term housing for domestic and family violence
victim-survivors with a $13 million expansion to the Shared Equity Home Buyer Helper.
Rental Reform
The appointment of a state-first NSW Rental Commissioner. The NSW Rental Commissioner
will work with Government to design and implement changes to make renting in NSW fairer,
more affordable, and more secure.
Ensuring a fair deal for renters by:
• Implementing a Portable Rental Bond Scheme
• Protecting renters from unfair evictions and;
• Making it easier for renters to have pets in homes.
Cost-of-living support
• Providing $500 of fee relief per child for 3-year-olds in Long Day Cares, supporting up
to 64,000 children and families.
• Energy bill relief, eligible families, pensioners, low-income households, veterans,
carers, and self-funded retirees with a $500 electricity rebate, helping an estimated
15,210 eligible households across the South Coast,
This budget will extend Energy Bill relief by;
• Increasing the Family Energy Rebate to $250
• Increasing the Seniors Energy Rebate to $250
• Increasing the Low-Income Household Rebate and Medical Energy Rebate to $350
• Increasing the value for each equipment type up to $1,639 under the Life Support
Rebate
Quotes attributable to Liza Butler, Member for South Coast
“I am proud to be part of a government that listens to the needs of the community and plans
for the future growth of the area.
“Prior to the election, I heard loud and clear from residents across the South Coast that,
healthcare, education, housing and transport were the top priorities for our region.”
“The Minns Labor Government is delivering on our election commitments with upgrades to
Milton and Shoalhaven Hospitals, upgrades to Vincentia High, Ulladulla High, Ulladulla Public,
Milton Public, opening the former Shoalhaven Anglican School site for public education and a
brand-new primary school and pre-school for Nowra.
Funding the Jervis Bay Intersection upgrade, getting started on ENSA (East Nowra Sub
Arterial Road Project), continuing the planning for the Milton-Ulladulla bypass and funding to
help build shared pathways across the South Coast.”
“This budget is about people, delivering the essential services we all rely on, and having the
housing needed for these essential workers, and I am extremely proud to be part of a
government that is putting people first."
