Kevin Anderson was the guest speaker at the Tamworth Business Chamber’s lunch on Tuesday, addressing the 70 strong crowd about “the state of the state”, and how the local region can capitalise on the NSW Government’s strong financial position.
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On the back of a state budget that delivered a $4.5 billion surplus, and a record $15 billion spend on infrastructure this year, Mr Anderson said the Tamworth region is primed to benefit from that stimulation across the board.
“The tough decisions made early in the first term – trimming the public sector and a cap on spending followed by the asset recycling strategy managed to put our state in a position where we are seeing that record investment in infrastructure,” Mr Anderson said.
“This strategy funded the $29.8 billion Restart NSW Fund, and we are seeing the results of that right here in Tamworth.”
Mr Anderson cited a four per cent drop in youth unemployment and 1.7 per cent drop in general unemployment in the last 12 months, as well as development application approvals for 530 dwellings as just some of the direct results of that spending.
“There is plenty of confidence in the market place, and the government has identified this region as a growth centre. It is my job in association with you and others to continue to take advantage of every opportunity so that we can maximise our potential,” Mr Anderson said.
“There is more on the way for our region, make no mistake. We need to continue to take advantage of every opportunity so that we can maximise our potential.”
TBC president Jye Segboer said that while, on the back of the budget, “ the region is heading in a positive direction, he would still like to see even more employment opportunities and growth.
Mr Segboer agreed that Tamworth is in a prime position to take advantage of the infrastructure spending.
“We are seeing jobs built around the infrastructure spending, particularly on roads and education, and there should be more coming towards the back half of the year,” Mr Segboer said.