NSW Budget Reporting Requirements for Long-Term Social and Environmental Wellbeing

Fiscal Responsibility Amendment (Wellbeing Budget) Bill 2023

Private Member's Bill

2 Aug 2023: MPs in the first house are debating whether this bill is a good idea in principle.

Legislative Council

Legislative Assembly

Assent

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Topics

budget cost of living economic management environmental protection fiscal responsibility housing affordability public assets public service social wellbeing

Introduced by: Abigail Boyd MLC (GRN)

Links to official parliament websites

Official page: progress through parliament

Official page: bill text and explanatory notes

Effects of this bill

If this bill passes, it means that:

The Treasurer must include a report in the budget papers on the state's long-term economic, social, environmental and cultural wellbeing.
This report must cover specific areas; these include housing affordability, cost of living and greenhouse gas emissions.
The report must track biodiversity loss; it must also track life outcome differences for First Nations peoples.
The current generation must now fund the cost of repairing social, environmental and cultural damage caused by previous generations.
The state must maintain its AAA credit rating.
The state must keep essential public assets and services under public ownership; this removes reliance on the private sector.

The Debate

What different members said when this bill was debated:

Daniel Mookhey ALP

“I contribute to debate on the Fiscal Responsibility Amendment (Wellbeing Budget) Bill 2023. Wellbeing measures within budgets are useful ways to ensure we know not just the price but the value of our economic decisions.”

Official source →

Damien Tudehope LIB

“The Opposition does not support the Fiscal Responsibility Amendment (Wellbeing Budget) Bill 2023. At last I can find something that I agree with the Treasurer on.”

Official source →

Mark Latham IND

“I share scepticism with the Treasurer and the shadow Treasurer about the merits of the Fiscal Responsibility Amendment (Wellbeing Budget) Bill, mainly because the whole concept of wellbeing budgeting has had quite a chequered history. It is a good idea that has not quite got off the ground.”

Official source →

News articles and press releases

Fiscal Responsibility Amendment (Wellbeing Budget) Bill 2023

Ms ABIGAIL BOYD — 2023-06-21

Schedules 1 [1] and [2] to the bill extend the objects of the Fiscal Responsibility Act beyond a simple goal of maintaining a triple-A rating and adds two new objects. First, to establish the principles for sound financial management in the conduct of fiscal policy; and, second, to establish reporting requirements to the extent to which the Government’s fiscal policy is consistent with those principles. Schedules 1 [3] and [4] explain that the purpose of the objects, as amended and in addition to the existing purpose, is: first, to maintain essential public assets and services under public ownership and control, thereby providing the State with the ability to meet the needs of current and future generations without reliance on the private sector; and, second, to increase the long-term economic, social, environmental and cultural wellbeing of the State.