First Year
Achievements
Premier’s Foreword
For the past 12 months the Government has been
working hard to deliver its commitments and build the
infrastructure needed to make NSW number one again.
The Government’s first objective was to fix the Budget
black hole and build a strong and sustainable
economy. We have cut taxes, supported jobs growth
and taken the difficult decisions to repair the
Government’s budget position.
At the same time we have invested in returning
quality services. We’ve hired over 1,000 new nurses
and opened over 550 new hospital beds, empowered
principals in our schools, more bus, train and ferry
services and employed more police.
We have started work on turning around the State’s
infrastructure deficit. We’ve established Infrastructure
NSW, begun work on the North West and South West
Rail Links, agreed to widen the M5 West, invested
more funds in the Pacific and Princes highways and
announced $4.7 billion to rebuild the State’s hospitals
and health infrastructure.
The Government has increased protection for our
local environment, re–establishing an independent
Environment Protection Authority and agreeing to
establish the Dharawal National Park.
We also restored accountability to government by
scrapping Part 3A of the planning act, passing
Australia’s toughest political donations laws,
establishing an independent Public Service
Commission and releasing NSW 2021—a 10 year
blueprint to guide Government decision making.
In our first year we’ve been getting on with the job of
rebuilding NSW. We are delivering real change—
and this is just the start.
Barry O’Farrell
Premier
Rebuilding the Economy
The Government’s number one priority is
to restore economic growth and establish
NSW as the first place in Australia to do
business. We have:
99 Put the Reliance Rail deal on a sustainable basis
while ensuring Waratah trains are delivered
99 Put the State’s finances back on track by fixing the
unsustainable financial position
99 Made it compulsory for the NSW Government
to pay its bills in 30 days to small business
99 Released land for over 72,000 new homes across
NSW to improve housing affordability
99 Closed the Solar Bonus Scheme which had
blown out from $300 million to $1.6 billion
99 Abolished the homebuyer’s tax, saving families an
average of $1,250 on home purchases
99 Contributed $5 million to the Illawarra to create jobs
after the BlueScope Steel restructure
99 Established the $7,000 Regional Relocation Grant
99 Appointed a NSW Cross–Border Commissioner to
address the problems facing businesses close to
NSW’s borders
99 Implemented the ‘Empty Nester’ Transfer Duty
Concession for over 55’s
99 Introduced payroll tax rebates for up to 100,000 new
jobs, including up to 40,000 in regional NSW
99 Established Industry Taskforces to stimulate
growth in the Digital Economy, Professional
Services, Manufacturing, Visitor Economy and the
International Education and Research sectors
99 Appointed a NSW Small Business Commissioner
to stand up for the rights of NSW’s 650,000 small
businesses
99 Led high level trade delegations to China and India
to attract investment to NSW
99 Progressed the leasing of the Sydney
Desalination Plant
99 Provided $6 million to secure the Centre for
International Finance and Regulation for Sydney
99 Commenced the $200 Low Income Household
Energy Rebate and increased the Medical Energy
Rebate to $200
99 Cut taxes for NSW clubs so they can continue to
support their communities
99 Established Destination NSW to grow tourism and
secure major events for NSW. Destination NSW
has secured 22 major events including the Strictly
Ballroom Musical, the Lion King and Richard III
99 Implemented national OH&S laws
99 Contributed $5 million to regional tourism
projects to boost regional economies
99 Commenced construction on the Barangaroo
commercial buildings and the headland park
99 Established the Multicultural Business Advisory Panel
and held the Multicultural NSW Business Summit
99 Passed legislation to implement a fair public
sector wages policy
99 Implemented new measures to cut red tape by
$750 million and ensure two regulations are
removed for any one introduced
99 Abolished the ‘no forced redundancy’ policy for the
public sector and committed to 5,000 voluntary
redundancies in non–front line positions
2
Returning Quality Services
Over the past year we have begun the
process of restoring quality services for the
people of NSW. We have:
99 Commenced delivery of the Literacy and Numeracy
Action plan, including 900 extra teachers
Health
99 Provided more than $28 million in additional funding
for school maintenance upgrades
99 Treated more than 33,000 additional patients in
Emergency Departments and provided more than
6,400 additional surgical procedures
99 Started giving greater powers to principals to
manage their schools
99 Delivered 565 more beds and recruited an
additional 1,011 nurses
99 Established 15 new Local Health Districts (LHDs) and
abolished a middle layer of bureaucracy to bring
decision makers closer to patients
99 Negotiated a final COAG Health Reform Agreement,
delivering an extra $3 billion in funding to NSW
99 Negotiated $438 million in funding from the
Commonwealth Health & Hospitals Fund including
the upgrade of Tamworth, Bega, Albury, Dubbo and
Wagga Wagga hospitals
99 Provided NSW Government funding to Lifeline for the
first time
Education
99 Provided $4 million over four years to revitalise our
Regional Libraries
99 Negotiated an extra $48 million in support for
students with disabilities from the Commonwealth
Government
99 Replaced the School Certificate with the Record of
School Achievement
99 Reformed University governance arrangements
99 Commenced a trial of 50 new student support officer
positions in NSW schools
99 Brought Early Childhood Education and Care into the
Department of Education and Communities
99 Established the Office of Medical Research with an
additional $20 million in funding
99 Provided real–time information on Emergency
Room waiting times
99 Announced anti–tobacco laws to ban smoking in
playgrounds, public transport stops, entrances to
public buildings and sports grounds, and banning
smoking in outdoor dining areas by 2015
99 Established the NSW Mental Health Commission and
delivered the largest Mental Health budget in the
State’s history
Family and Community
99 Delivered $137.6 million in Stronger Together 2
funding for new disability services
99 Introduced a payroll tax rebate of up to $4,000 for
businesses who employ a person with a disability
99 Committed $82 million to assist disabled people
with the transition to individualised funding
99 Increased mileage and accommodation allowances
for isolated patients who need to travel for treatment
99 Provided an additional $2.5 million to enable victims
of domestic violence to remain in their homes
99 Commenced reforming the organ donation system to
increase donation rates and save lives
99 Commenced the transfer of Out–of–Home Care to Non
Government Organisations (NGOs)
99 Committed to banning all commercial ultraviolet
sun beds by 2014
99 Strengthened the role of the Ombudsman’s Office in
overseeing the Child Death Review Team
3
99 Published the first Child Deaths Annual Report
and hosted a Child Deaths Seminar
99 Commenced funding for 4,800 new affordable
rental housing dwellings
99 Commenced consultation on the biggest social
housing Public Private Partnership (PPP) in the
State’s history
99 Established the Ministerial Taskforce on
Aboriginal Affairs
Transport Services
99 Reduced monthly, quarterly and annual train fares
for regular commuters
99 Provided 63 extra rail services and 91 extra NightRide
bus services each week
99 Introduced 25 new ferry services and restored
140 services
99 Extended MyZone and Pensioner Excursion Tickets to
light rail services from Central to Lilyfield
Police and Public Safety
99 Commenced recruitment for an extra 550 police officers
on the beat, including 100 highway patrol officers
99 Introduced mandatory life sentences for murdering
police officers
99 Implemented a sustainable Police Death and
Disability Scheme to get injured officers back to work
99 Provided police officers with the power to request the
removal of face coverings for identification purposes
99 Stopped prisoners who commit offences
from changing their name
99 Introduced laws to ensure licensed gun owners can
only purchase ammunition for the firearms they own
99 Strengthened consorting offences to fight
organised crime
99 Toughened drive–by shooting penalties
99 Launched the Neighbourhood Watch pilot program
to allow communities to report crime via the internet
and mobile devices
99 Increased passenger safety by assigning 610 police
officers to police the transport network
99 Passed legislation to allow vulnerable people to work
off their fines through education, mental health
treatment and voluntary work
99 Encouraged the private sector to run new ferry routes
in peak periods
99 Introduced shield laws to protect journalists from
being compelled to name their sources
99 Commenced a trial of ‘quiet carriages’ on the
Newcastle/Central Coast Line
99 Strengthened police ‘move along powers’ and
introduced the offence of ‘intoxicated and disorderly’
99 Commenced the tendering process for the
franchising of Sydney Ferries
99 Passed legislation to introduce the ‘three strikes’
policy for licensed venues
99 Boosted Community Transport funding by $12 million
over four years
99 Provided an additional $3.8 million for new ballistic
resistant vests for police officers
99 Delivered 177 new sets of flashing lights in
school zones
99 Established a drug rehabilitation prison, with a
second Sydney Drug Court to commence in May
99 Turned off 38 revenue–raising speed cameras
following a speed camera audit
99 Committed an additional $20 million to improve
and expand Police and Citizens Youth Clubs
4
Renovating
Infrastructure
We have begun the task of rebuilding the
State’s infrastructure. We have:
99 Established Infrastructure NSW to provide independent
advice on infrastructure priorities
99 Reduced the number of transport agencies from ten
to four by establishing the State’s first integrated
transport agency, Transport for NSW
99 Lodged the project application to build the North West
Rail Link with land acquisition and detailed planning
underway
99 Started major construction on the South West Rail Link
99 Established the Restart NSW infrastructure fund
and committed 30% of Restart NSW to projects in
regional NSW
99 Established the $350 million Hunter Infrastructure
and Investment Fund
99 Agreed funding with the Commonwealth for the
$1.1 billion Northern Sydney Freight Line and
started work on the line
99 Secured agreement to widen the M5 West with
work to start in July 2012
99 Committed an additional $468 million in funds to
accelerate the upgrade of the Pacific Highway
99 Awarded the contract for Stage 1 construction of
the Princes Highway upgrade from Gerringong to
Bomaderry
99 Started work on the Erskine Park Link Road to unlock
the employment lands in Western Sydney
99 Committed to completing the upgrade of the Camden
Valley Way to four lanes by 2016
99 Provided real time M4 and M7 travel times
99 Commenced a $4.7 billion infrastructure program to
rebuild our hospitals
99 Established the Local Infrastructure Renewal Scheme
to unlock $1 billion in funds for councils to upgrade
local infrastructure
99 Conducted a council–by–council audit to identify
council infrastructure backlogs
99 Commenced the tender process for a new Sydney
Convention and Exhibition Centre at Darling Harbour
99 Received tenders for construction of the Wynyard
Walk to Barangaroo
99 Started work on the Inner West Light Rail extension
with tenders issued and services to commence in 2014
99 Accelerated sewerage connection to 3,000 houses
across eight communities
99 Established a Light Rail roundtable to work through
feasibility issues for light rail in the CBD, and to the
University of NSW and the University of Sydney
99 Started developing the Long Term Transport
Masterplan
99 Announced the rollout of the Opal electronic ticketing
system that will commence on ferries by late 2012
5
Strengthening our
Local Environment
and Communities
The Government is committed to
strengthening environmental protection
and improving local communities.
We have:
99 Re–established an independent Environment
Protection Agency and doubled fines for companies
that fail to notify the watchdog of pollution incidents
99 Agreed to establish Dharawal National Park whilst
protecting jobs and investment in the Illawarra
99 Put a moratorium on Coal Seam Gas (CSG) fraccing
approvals while we identified productive farmland for
greater levels of protection
99 Banned the use of evaporation ponds and BTEX
chemicals in CSG exploration
99 Introduced a requirement for all new mining and
petroleum applicants to submit an Agricultural
Impact Statement
99 Abolished entry fees to Mt Annan and Mt Tomah
Botanical Gardens
99 Commenced an inquiry into the disappearance of
water in Thirlmere Lakes
99 Established the Cranebrook Nature Reserve
99 Established the Rutherford Clean Air Pilot program
to identify sources of air pollution at the Rutherford
Industrial Estate
99 Started a hazardous facilities audit program targeting industries that pose a high environmental risk
99 Supported the Devil Ark breeding program to breed
and maintain Tasmanian Devils
99 Granted a lease at the Western Sydney Parklands for
a new commercial glasshouse project that will create
jobs and food crops at Eastern Creek
99 Expanded the Upper Hunter Air Quality
Monitoring Network with 14 network stations
providing reliable real time data on air quality
in the Upper Hunter region
99 Appointed a Minister for Heritage to ensure
heritage and conservation has a strong,
independent voice in Cabinet
99 Cut unnecessary red tape to speed up the listing of
items on the State Heritage Register
99 Appointed NSW’s first Parliamentary Secretary for
Renewable Energy
99 Increased the protection of over 5,000 hectares of
high conservation land that expands the NSW Green
Corridor network
99 Bolstered our fire fighting response in National Parks
with six new dedicated rapid response fire fighting
teams and two additional helicopters
99 Provided the highest level of protection to important
state heritage assets, like Homewood: the childhood
home of Slim Dusty, the Strand Arcade in Sydney and
Christ Church Cathedral Newcastle
99 Commenced a review of the waste levy
99 Provided $650,000 to the Nature Conservation Trust
to increase conservation on private lands
99 Commenced a review into Aboriginal Cultural
Heritage to make sure our Aboriginal culture is
protected for future generations
99 Released Draft Wind Farm Planning Guidelines for
consultation
99 Completed an Independent Scientific Audit of
Marine Parks
99 Provided $7.5 million for the redevelopment of the
RSPCA animal shelter in Yagoona
6
Restoring
Accountability
The Government is committed to
restoring integrity and accountability
to Government. We have:
99 Established the State’s strategic priorities in
NSW 2021: A Plan to Make NSW Number One
99 Allowed people across the State to have their say on
local priorities within the plan, with 24 community
meetings
99 Abolished Part 3A of the Environmental Planning and
Assessment Act, and commenced a review of the
State’s planning laws
99 Established the Public Service Commission to help
create a world class public service in NSW
99 Recruited five new Directors General to provide
renewed public sector leadership and innovation
99 Passed legislation to introduce an Ethical Framework
for the Public Sector
99 Introduced Australia’s strictest political donations
laws to restrict donations to individual citizens
99 Eliminated taxpayer funded political advertising
99 Banned success fees for lobbying government officials
99 Announced the return of the Governor to Government
House, whilst maintaining public access
99 Restored democracy to Wollongong and Shellharbour
by holding Council elections
99 Addressed the escalating costs of local government
elections by allowing Councils to choose who
administers their elections
99 Signed a Reform Partnership with Victoria to achieve
cost savings and attract investment
99 Negotiated and signed a Cross Border Memorandum
of Understanding (MOU) with Queensland and the
ACT to improve the provision of services at
our borders
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