When the NSW Liberals & Nationals Government came into office three years ago we promised to make NSW number one again, and, in stark contrast to NSW Labor, I’m proud to announce we have delivered.
Premier, Macquarie Group Sculpture Prize Winner Peter Lundberg, Macquarie Group Deputy Managing Director Greg Ward, SxS Founding Director David Handley
In the past week, we have received some positive news about the NSW economy, with our coveted AAA credit rating reaffirmed and the State topping the list in the latest CommSec State Of The States report.
It has taken more than three years of hard work and discipline, but the repair work is paying dividends and confidence has returned to NSW.
What’s more, we’ve leapt ahead to be top of the pack.
The CommSec report has listed NSW first among all states and territories, moving up from third place in the last scorecard in July. The analysis compares quarterly performance on a range of areas including economic growth, construction, retail trade, housing, unemployment and population.
We have returned to the top of the leader-board for the first time since July 2011, with the news coming less than a week after a strengthening in the State’s credit rating.
Credit ratings agency Standard and Poor’s recently reaffirmed the State’s triple-A rating and took NSW off negative watch.
The CommSec report also finds that home finance and construction are the chief reasons that NSW is the “big improver” in economic performance, as housing supply has finally risen to meet demand.
As economic confidence has returned to NSW, so have overseas and interstate migrants and the report finds that population growth in NSW is the fastest in five years.
These indicators are more important votes of confidence in NSW and our economic management.
In other news, I attended the launch of the world famous Sculpture by the Sea exhibition along Sydney’s iconic Bondi to Tamarama coastal walk.
The exhibition is going from strength to strength and is now considered to be the largest and best attended annual sculpture exhibition in the world.
It attracts about 500,000 visitors to NSW each year, including an increasing number of people from Western Sydney. Last year, 24 per cent of visitors – or more than 100,000 people – from the region visited the exhibition, up from seven per cent in 2007.
It also increases the State’s appeal as an international arts and cultural destination, with more than 14,000 visitors arriving from interstate, and almost 5,000 arriving from overseas, providing an almost $60 million boost in indirect expenditure to the State economy.
Sculpture by the Sea is one of Sydney’s best known and loved outdoor exhibitions, offering people an opportunity to experience more than 100 art works from Australian and international sculptors.
While attending the launch, it was my pleasure to announce the NSW Government would continue its support for the exhibition for a further four years.
