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SPEECH NOTES FOR PREMIER KRISTINA KENEALLY, MP

FOR NSW BUSINESS CHAMBER

WEDNESDAY, 10 MARCH 2010

 Download the speech [PDF]

Good morning.

Let me first acknowledge the traditional owners of the land on

which we are gathered and pay my respects to Aboriginal elders

past and present.

* * *

• Stephen Cartwright, CEO NSW Chamber of Commerce

• Hon. Patricia Forsythe, Director of Sydney Chamber of

Commerce

• My parliamentary colleague Barry O’Farrell

• Business leaders, distinguished guests …

Well it’s wonderful to have this opportunity to talk to the NSW

Business Council …

… the oldest member-based business group in Australia …

… representing more than 22,000 businesses across NSW and the ACT.

And I believe every one of your members shares a common goal

with my Government …

… and that is making NSW the No. 1 State for commerce and industry …

… and the best place for doing business.

Your NSW: Reclaiming 1st document sets out a wide ranging

agenda for the economic future of this State …

… with recommendations covering taxation, infrastructure, health and other areas of public policy.

Obviously, I welcome this initiative…

… just as I welcome any initiative which contributes in a constructive way to debate about the future of NSW.

Fresh thinking and new ideas are the lifeblood of a dynamic

economy and progressive government….

….so every one of your recommendations will be considered in detail by my team.

And I know we can work hand in hand…

…because there is common ground between us on major aspect of public policy.

Your document is called Reclaiming 1st…

…but let’s not forget the many areas in which NSW is already first.

Most notably; leading Australia on the path to national economic

recovery.

NSW has led Australia’s recovery out of the global financial crisis.

This is a fact.

• NSW’s growth for the first half of 2009-10 was 3.9 percent …

ahead of all other states….

• In Victoria it was 3.3 percent … in Queensland, just 0.9 percent.

And each day, NSW brings more good economic news for Australia.

Only yesterday my colleague the Treasurer, Eric Roozendaal,

welcomed the latest ANZ survey of monthly job ads….

… recording its highest increase in 11 years …

… up 14.4 percent in NSW compared with the national

average of 13.1 percent.

Internet job ads tell a similar story… showing NSW leading the

nation …with growth in internets ads of 3.57 percent in February.

Our unemployment rate is falling faster than the national average.

And on a trend basis, employment in NSW has now grown every

month since April 2009.

And there’s more good news.

• Residential building approvals rose by a remarkable 95

percent during the past year.

• New house sales are up 26 percent compared with a year

ago – this is almost double the national average.

• NSW leads the nation in growth in new private capital

investment … with a rise of 16.1 percent in December 2009

quarter.

And NSW continues to lead the nation’s retail recovery … with

sales growing by 12.2 percent since the worst days of the global

financial crisis,

There are other important areas in which NSW leads the nation:

• The highest capital infrastructure spend of any State over the

four-year period.

• The best literacy and numeracy results for students in years

3 and 5

• The best paid nurses in Australia

• The best performing emergency departments in the nation

• The highest percentage of elective surgery patients seen

within the recommended timeframe in Australia, leading the

nation in the implementation of federal stimulus package

• Our trains are running 96% on time, outperforming Victoria’s

privately run train system

• And, as we are releasing today, figures that show NSW is

leading the nation’s economic recover y in tourism.

In this context, any talk about NSW holding Australia back is

simply out of line with the facts.

And having these facts in perspective is critical to making confident

decisions about planning for the next 5, 10 or 20 years.

NSW is now embarked on a confident and positive path to renewed growth and prosperity. And it’s in that context that we will be considering your initiatives.

Now, do not, for a moment, confuse this confidence that I speak of with complacency. These are different things.

Our economic recovery still has along way to go… and we need to capitalise on it to build a new platforms for long-term prosperity and business confidence in NSW.

By

… improving infrastructure

… cutting red tape and reducing business burdens

… restructuring government and Federal-State relations.

We have undertaken biggest overhaul of the NSW public sector for 30 years.

We’re committed to a Better Services and Delivery Taskforce….

….including a series of whole-of-government expenditure reviews….

….beginning with a review if ICT expenditures and legal costs.

In a time of severe budget pressure and global uncertainty …

…during which we’ve preserved NSW’s triple-A credit rating…

… we’ve also cut payroll tax to 5.65 percent from 1 January this year.

We will cut it to 5.5% next year and we have indexed thresholds, to eliminate “creep”.

Let’s not forget that 90% of NSW businesses pay no pay roll tax…

….and that our concessions for businesses in areas of higher unemployment provide strong incentives to many regional areas….

…which is another focus of your recommendations.

On the vital question of reforming our health system … we’ve welcomed the opportunity presented by the Prime Minister’s recent announcement.

We’ve made it clear we want to work with the Commonwealth on fundamental reforms to the way that healthcare services are delivered across the nation.

This Government has long supported the need for changes to this system…

….and we have rapidly convened a consultation process…

….to ensure that we go into COAG armed with the most upto date information…

….to present NSW’s best interests.

Giving a high priority to infrastructure development is another goal we share.

We have commenced a $65.5 billion infrastructure investment over the next four years. It is the highest capital spend of any State over the four-year period.

It is the largest investment in infrastructure in the history of NSW…

and it will support around 165,000 jobs a year.

But as any one in the audience who has built anything knows - funding is one thing… planning certainty is another.

So we have delivered a major overhaul to the planning assessment process …. including the streamlined approvals processes for projects of State significance.

If you will pardon me for being partisan political for a moment, it is worth pointing out that the NSW Opposition have a longstanding promise to abolish Part 3A and return planning assessments to local councils.

This is a clear point of difference between the Government and Opposition.

Not only do we see Part 3A as crucial to securing investment in NSW…

… and, since September 2008, the Government has made 658 approvals…

….supporting over 87,300 job…

…and more than $32.7 billion worth of investment in NSW

Because anyone in business knows that….

….certainty of process…

….and prompt decision making…

….are the keys to an investment-friendly climate.

When I took over the Planning portfolio, I set the following goals for the state’s major project system:

• 85% of projects determined within 3 months

• 95% determined within 5 months

• No project to take longer than 8 months.

Many people doubted we could even come close to these figures.

But the facts are speaking for themselves.

The most recent figures indicate that 72%were determined in 3

months, and no project has taken longer than 8 months.

Other significant changes to speed up the planning process

include the introduction of the Joint Regional Planning Panels

and the award-winning NSW Housing Code.

The JRPPs determine projects between $10 million and $100 million.

They ‘depoliticise’ planning decisions by taking the local politics – but not the local opinions – out of planning determinations.

There are excellent precedents in this regard…

….the City of Vancouver depoliticized its planning assessment decisions over 30 years ago….handing development decisions to an independent Development Permit Board…..

….Councillors in Vancouver set overall policy settings….

….but have not, for decades now, determined individual developments.

Today Vancouver is regularly cited in urban planning circles as one the most progressive, sustainable and liveable cities in the world.

And even Mr O’Farrell’s liberal colleagues in Western

Australia have followed NSW’s lead….

….and are committed to establishing a virtually identical system of independent panels for deveopment assessments.

And why wouldn’t they? To date the numbers they can see from

NSW are encouraging.

JRPPs are taking an average of 110 days to determine a development application….

…. compared to the 249 days taken by local councils.

In addition, the NSW Housing Code provides a 10 day, checklist style approval process for new houses…

…..saving 110 days and $6500 on average per application.

Again, on these 2 initiatives, a clear point of difference between the Government and the Opposition.

In a recent article in the Sydney Magazine, Mr O’Farrell asserted that the best way to address a number of issues…

…. whether it be housing affordability, infrastructure investment, or support for the arts…

….is to have a strong economy.

That’s undoubtedly true. But you cannot have a strong economy if you slow up, and clog up, the state’s planning system.

And we will continue to improve and streamline the planning

system...

….considering how recent initiatives through the Nation Building and Jobs Plan Act….

…. that have allowed us to translate stimulus spending into real projects in our communities…

….can be applied to the ongoing development of our State

For us, cutting red tape is core business. On business development….we have set ourselves a goal of cutting red tape by $500 million by June 2010….

…. And changes implemented to 31 December 2009 have already contributed $338 million towards that target.

We’re conducted targeted reviews in specific areas of regulatory burden….

….we’ve seen a number of important reforms …

… including exempt and complying codes for commercial industrial and retail uses…

…. that will save business each time they renovate their premises or change their use.

In transport…. major changes are underway….

….with transport and land use planning integrated for the first time ever in NSW…

……and a fully funded $50B transport plan.

This integration will

o provide easier transport to workplaces

o provide more homes close to transport

o provide more work options convenient to homes

and these are all benefits to businesses in NSW.

The construction of our $2.1 billion South-West rail link, is already well underway …

…. And our Western Express program will deliver vastly improved public transport for the working heart of Sydney.

[announcement]

Now, there’s much more I could talk about….

…but I need to allow some time to announce another

initiative….

….that is all aboutkeeping NSW first.

Ladies and Gentlemen: NSW is leading Australia’s international

tourism recovery.

Data from Tourism Research Australia’s International Visitor Survey, shows the number of international visitors to NSW increased by almost 7 per cent last quarter…

….with visitor nights up by almost 13 per cent….

….this around three times the national average increase in nights.

NSW is the number one State for international visitors, visitor nights and expenditure.

More international visitors are coming to Sydney and NSW, and they’re staying longer and spending more.

This is fantastic news for the economy and for the tourism industry after a tough 2009.

And we will do what it takes to ensure NSW keeps its title of tourism and entertainment capital.

So, today I announced an overhaul of Events NSW and a major revamping

of the NSW Government’s approach to events attraction.

While I will retain oversight of Events NSW….

….a new portfolio and Minister for Major Events…

…. dedicated to the acquisition and attraction of events….will be created.

The Minister for State and Regional Development, Ian Macdonald will take this position.

… he will also have Ministerial accountability for Events NSW – meaning that Events NSW will have dual levels of oversight.

A high level whole of government Cabinet Committee…

… comprising the Minister for Tourism, Minister for Western Sydney (including Sydney Olympic Park), Minister for Arts, and the Minister for Gaming and Racing…

….will be created, reporting to me.

And, I am delighted to announce that internationally recognised business leader, Mr John Conde AO, has been appointed as Chairman of Events NSW.

We will do what it takes to ensure NSW keeps its title of entertainment capital.

Not only will Events NSW continue to report to the Premier….

….which I believe is appropriate….

….but a high-level Cabinet committee will also be engaged to ensure the biggest and best events stay in our State.

This gives our major events approach the prominence in cabinet that it deserves.

After all, Major events generate $500 million for the State of NSW every year.

And that is why we are taking a stronger approach to securing and attracting events in NSW.

We are sending a clear message to the world that NSW is open for events business.

We look forward to securing and attracting more events – adding to our impressive list.

It’s just another aspect of how we are constantly looking to do

things differently….

… to do business differently….

….and to make business easier in NSW.

I know this was not one of your 10 ideas….

….but I know that it’s one you’ll support…

….so perhaps I could humbly suggest it might be the 11th….

…. or at least 10A.

And….as we have briefly touched on today….

…..given the breadth of your report….

….we share so much common ground with the Chamber…

….and are already acting on your areas of interest.

Because our interests are, of course, mutual.

Thank you for your time….

…..thank you for your energy and initiative…

…..and thank you for your ongoing contribution to the State of NSW.