Start the Change

Kristina Keneally and Eric Roozendaal are living in a parallel universe if they think NSW is leading the economic recovery, Shadow Treasurer Mike Baird said today.

State Final Demand figures released by the Australian Bureau of Statistics today show NSW had the slowest growth of all mainland states over the past decade.

The NSW unemployment rate continues to climb and is the highest in mainland Australia with an additional 10,300 people unemployed since last month in our State, Shadow Treasurer Mike Baird said today.

“NSW is continuing to drag the chain because of the Keneally Labor Government’s incompetence and failed economic policies and today’s unemployment rates are no exception,” Mr Baird said.

The Victorian Government’s State Budget announcement to cut payroll tax highlights the Keneally Labor Government’s failure to do enough to keep NSW competitive, NSW Opposition Leader Barry O’Farrell and Shadow Treasurer Mike Baird said today.

The Victorian payroll tax rate will be 4.9% from July 1. In NSW the rate will be 5.5% on 1 January 2011.

“After 15 years of incompetent Labor Government in NSW, our state has lost its competitive edge,” Mr O’Farrell said.

Inter-generational pact

With the demographic changes speeding up mature citizens will need workers to help support them moving forward into this century. Yet living among us is a growing and forgotten youth population. Many young Australians are by and large disengaged in our society. On the Central Coast we have a near 40% youth unemployment rate. That's two in every five young people disengaged officially. In truth the rate of disengagement is probably over 50%.

I live in Glenwood. My area is predominantly Liberal voters.  Here are my issues of concern:

There needs to be a stronger push in NSW Liberal party profile of Barry O'Farrell. Even if that means more advertisements, home brochures, newspaper ads etc. At the moment, I don't really know who Barry O'Farrell is. What does he stand for? Is he a strong leader? Is he a formidable leader ready to lead NSW?  Does he represent as an outstanding alternative? I have to go through online to read about him. Not many people will bother to go online. I find the 'on the spot, in your face' ads like TV ads, newspapers and brochures are just as effective especially for time poor families like me.

The NSW Treasurer Eric Roozendaal is so out of touch he is celebrating a small increase in job ads while NSW has the worst unemployment rate in the country, Shadow Treasurer Mike Baird said today.

“Only Eric Roozendaal would issue a media release saying NSW is leading the economic recovery when we have the worst unemployment rate in the nation,” Mr Baird said.

News Boeing is to close its aerospace engineering plant in Sydney’s West is another blow to the NSW economy, which is already struggling with the nation’s highest unemployment rate, NSW Opposition Leader and Shadow Minister for Western Sydney Barry O’Farrell and Shadow Treasurer Mike Baird said today.

Boeing has announced today 350 jobs will be lost when it closes its Milperra plant near Bankstown Aerodrome. 300 of those jobs will go to Melbourne, while at least 50 people will be made redundant.

The opportunity of a job is a significant pathway to choice, quality of life and security for every individual.

To grow our economy, and enable jobs growth, government should remove obstacles to job creation where possible.

This is why the NSW Liberals & Nationals have a Jobs Action Plan to target 100,000 new jobs for NSW.

NSW lags Australia when it comes to jobs growth. Over the past decade NSW has suffered the lowest jobs growth of any Australian State[1] and over the last 5 years NSW has had the highest unemployment rate of any mainland State.[2]

NSW also boasts the highest payroll tax rate of any Australian State except Tasmania,[3] and the highest payroll tax burden of any Australian State.[4]

The first of the NSW Liberals & Nationals five key priorities is to rebuild the NSW economy through lower taxes and business growth.

Under the NSW Liberals & Nationals Jobs Action Plan businesses that increase employment levels will not pay any payroll tax on the additional employees for their first year of employment.

The Jobs Action Plan will work by:

• - providing a payroll tax rebate of $4,000 per full time employee for the first 100,000 new payroll tax paying jobs created in NSW;
• - paying the rebate in two equal parts, on the first and second anniversary of the hire of a new full time employee. This will encourage long term, sustainable jobs.

It is estimated that the NSW Liberals & Nationals Jobs Action Plan will reduce the NSW unemployment rate by up to 0.3 per cent, and increase economic activity by up to $3.6 billion.

Rebuild the NSW economy through lower taxes and business growth

Unashamedly, our first priority for NSW is restoring economic growth and establishing NSW as the ‘first place to do business’.

The NSW Liberals & Nationals understand the importance of a strong economy:

• - as the driver of opportunity for individuals;
• - as the creator of jobs and wealth; and
• - as the source of revenue that government needs to provide services, tax cuts and infrastructure.

The people of NSW should be outraged today at the 'chicken feed' funding they've received out of the Federal Budget, solely due to the incompetence of their State Labor Government.

Treasurer Wayne Swan today confirmed in a post-budget radio interview that the allocation of $91 million to NSW for planning for the West Metro is 'chicken feed', considering a total of $8.45 billion has been handed out for rail, road and ports projects around the country.