Economic leaders will be told NSW is open for business, as the treasurer continues selling a budget welcomed by property developers and the building sector.
But others have questioned why NSW Treasurer Daniel Mookhey’s budget did not do more for a struggling health sector, on cost-of-living measures or to fund social services.
Mr Mookhey will address a Committee for Economic Development of Australia event on Wednesday, a day after delivering a budget some have suggested was tailored to the “big business” types that will be in the room.
The state’s $128 billion 2025/26 budget featured increased investment in essential services and lower debt, complete with a $1 billion housing development fund to finance developers behind low- to mid-rise buildings.
Ray White Group research head Vanessa Rader said the Labor government’s use of the public purse was a “fundamental transformation in commercial property dynamics”.
“Unlike traditional budgets focused primarily on CBD enhancement, this budget demonstrates a sophisticated understanding of distributed economic development and the need to adapt commercial property strategies to contemporary business requirements,” she said.
Others were less impressed with the government finances, with Greens MP Abigail Boyd labelling it “a budget for big business” rather than for the people.
“It’s a betrayal to all those in our communities doing it toughest – failing to address the rising cost of living in this state or lift people out of poverty, while leaving billions in uncollected revenue on the table from big business,” she said.
Among the Greens’ gripes was a failure to tweak gambling taxes that mean clubs do not pay tax for their first million in poker machines profits each year.
Hotels begin paying tax at $200,000.
“While public schools, public transport and hospitals are crying out for investment, Labor has refused to touch on a reform that could have delivered an estimated $1 billion into the state budget,” Greens MP Cate Faehrmann said.
The Australian Medical Association noted that same absence in their response and found “little meaningful funding for the state’s ailing public health system”.
“Doctors on the frontline are grappling with more acutely unwell patients with increasingly complex healthcare needs and the funding provided in this budget fails to address that,” AMA NSW president Kathryn Austin said.
The budget forecast a deficit of $3.4 billion for the 2025/26 financial year, falling to $1.1 billion in 2026/27.
Modest surpluses of $1.1 billion are projected in the following two years.
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