$200m fast-tracked to fix Sydney potholes despite budget holes

ABC NEWS (Australia)

The NSW Premier Chris Minns has labelled Sydney's pothole problem "out of control" after winter rainfall. Minns announced a $200 million plan for repairs, but the opposition claims he is spending 'tomorrow's budget today.'

Transcript

00:00Potholes. Even if you don't see them, you'll certainly feel them.

00:08And after one of the wettest winters on record, drivers are counting the cost.

00:13Blacktown is the top of the list. We know that Canterbury, Bankstown, LGA, we've seen

00:17a lot of call outs, the Northern Beaches, we get a lot, the Sydney CBD.

00:21To help fill them in, the Premier's tapping a big pool of money.

00:27Two hundred million dollars from the road maintenance budget is being spent early as part of a blitz

00:32on some of the state's biggest roads.

00:34If you know of a shocking pothole in your community, please call 131 700 and report it so that we

00:42can fix it as soon as possible.

00:44This is money borrowed from the future to invest in a budget black hole today.

00:49It's not the only void that needs filling. The Treasurer today confirming the financial

00:53shortfall affecting the state's Workers' Compensation Scheme. It's gone from being

00:58$3.7 billion in the red last year to almost $5.5 billion behind in 2025. A $1.7 billion

01:06degradation.

01:07The scheme is going backwards at a rate of knots. It's losing more than $6 million a day.

01:12The government still seeking parliamentary support for its stalled legislation, making it harder

01:18for workers with psychological injuries to claim long-term benefits.

01:22A parliamentary inquiry examining the changes has been told that traumatised workers will

01:28be left without support. The opposition says the government should be focused on shutting

01:32down rorts, but not at the expense of the most vulnerable.

01:36To not address that problem, but merely take away entitlements from seriously injured workers

01:44is correctly called barbarous.

01:48The Treasurer insists he's willing to compromise, but says a scheme that runs out of money is good

01:53for nothing.

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