THE 2022-23 Budget for NSW has been announced.

Highlights for the Myall Coast community include road funding, seniors travel, health services and cost-of-living measures.

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Member for Myall Lakes Stephen Bromhead welcomed more than $9.3 million in funding committed to improve the state of MidCoast Council run roads in the Myall Lakes.

“Roads are an incredibly important element within our region, particularly considering poor conditions which were made worse by heavy rainfall earlier this year.

“The NSW Nationals in government have previously provided more than $100 million to MidCoast Council for road upgrades.

“Another $9.3 million within this 2022-23 budget will help to improve safety and ensure the Myall Lakes is an even better place to call home” Mr Bromhead said.

The NSW Regional Seniors Travel Card has been continued, providing $250 towards fuel, taxi travel from regional providers and NSW TrainLink pre-booked tickets for regional pensioners.

Funding has been re-allocated for the Tech Savvy Seniors program to ensure seniors are not left behind in the increasingly digital world, whilst events such as the NSW Seniors Festival and Premier’s Gala Concerts are on the cards for 2023.

Over $7.2 billion has been committed to cost-of-living measures, including a new Premier’s Back to School Program which will run from 1 January 2023 to 30 June 2023, giving $150 to parents to help purchase school uniforms, shoes, bags and textbooks as well as other stationery.

Funding for the environment and heritage in the Budget include $598 million over ten years for National Parks and Wildlife Service to deliver 250 permanent jobs, including 200 firefighters, and critical infrastructure and fleet upgrades, $286.2 million over four years to implement the NSW Waste and Sustainable Materials Strategy 2041 and NSW Plastics Action Plan and $206.2 million over ten years in natural capital for a Sustainable Farming Program, rewarding farmers who opt into an accreditation program to improve carbon and biodiversity outcomes.

Other highlights in the 2022-23 Budget include more than $149 million to reduce costs for regional patients including an expansion of the Isolated Patients Travel and Accommodation Assistance Scheme (IPTAS), $33 billion investment in health and recruiting more than 10,000 full-time equivalent staff to hospitals, NSW Ambulance and health services across the State, $16.5 billion over ten years to break the barriers to opportunity for women and help give our children the best start in life including by investing in affordable and accessible childcare and creating a universal year of pre-kindergarten in the year before school and $2.8 billion to help more families find a place to call home, including $728.6 million for tax reform to help people own their first home.

Emergency Services will receive a boost, with $191 million for the Rural Fire Service, $132.7 million for the State Emergency Service, $30 million for Fire and Rescue NSW and $1.4 billion for Resilience NSW.

To view the whole 2022-23 NSW Budget, visit https://www.budget.nsw.gov.au/budget-papers.

By Tara CAMPBELL