MIKE Baird’s Coalition government has been returned for another four years in NSW.
Despite a Labor scare campaign, voters have backed Mr Baird’s $20 billion “poles and wires” electricity privatisation pitch, which will fund an ambitious plan of infrastructure investment.
However, it remains to be seen if his party will have the numbers needed in the Upper House to approve the 99 year lease of the state’s electricity assets.
Mr Baird said he has no "plan B" to deliver funding to infrastructure development.
Infrastructure is a significant concern for many regional voters, but a burning issue in the bush has been the deeply unpopular native vegetation land clearing laws.
Last week, Deputy Premier Troy Grant finally moved to fix the issue and voters will now be counting on him to deliver.
Mr Grant finally announced the government would implement all 43 recommendations of last year’s Biodiversity Legislation Review, which included replacing the Native Vegetation Act, the Threatened Species Act and parts of the National Parks and Wildlife Act.
He gave the government a November deadline to produce draft legislation to reform the current system.
The resources sector has also caused significant consternation in this election.
Resources and Energy Minister Anthony Roberts bought back CSG exploration licences across vast swathes of the state as voter unrest flared over the issue (at a rumoured cost of $200,000 each).
Last year, the Coalition promised to implement the full suite of recommendations from NSW Chief Scientist Mary O’Kane’s report into coal seam gas (CSG) when it was returned to office.
Massive reform would need to be rammed though parliament to achieve Professor O’Kane’s reforms, which
would mean staring down the powerful gas industry.
Complete adoption of the her recommendations would require a seismic shift away from current regulation and place added cost and risk on CSG companies.
Mr Roberts pledged a halt to new exploration until the reforms are in place, but as yet no deadline has been set to form new laws.
Similarly, Mr Roberts promised to reform land access laws in NSW, which are a major source of frustration for farmers.
As coal mining in particular continues to expand, many rural residents will be watching the reform process with interest.
The government said it would adopt all 32 recommendations of an independent review of the arbitration process, which was conducted by senior counsel Bret Walker, but no timeframe was put in place.
Mike Foley
Senior journalist for The Land.
Senior journalist for The Land.
