THINGS ARE GETTING WORSE

THINGS ARE GETTING WORSE

RISING COST OF LIVING
Under Barry OFarrell
Electricity bills have already increased by 18 per cent and are due to rise again in July 2012. Public transport fares up by 5.4 per cent almost double the rate of inflation costing the average commuter from Penrith, Parramatta and Gosford an extra $156 per year. Public preschool fees introduced for the first time costing some parents up to $200 per child, per week extra. Stamp duty exemption for first home buyers axed, adding up to $20,000 to the cost of a new home. Rents for pensioners in social housing up $11.90 per week. Government considering the introduction of new tolls on roads that are currently un-tolled, which could see western Sydney motorists slugged up to $25 just to travel to the city. Wages for teachers, nurses, paramedics, fire-fighters and other government workers capped at below the rate of inflation.

ECONOMIC MISMANAGEMENT
Under Barry OFarrell
NSW Budget plummets to four year string of deficits for the first time in 15 years. Economic growth has slowed from 1.6 per cent to 0.9 per cent since March 2011. Government debt forecast to double from $7.9 billion to $15.8 billion under Barry OFarrell. Planning system in gridlock while government review drags on. NSW is the only State in Australia to see housing approvals fall for the last four months. Retail spending is falling in real terms. Wages and salaries fell by 0.3 per cent in the December quarter the worst result in Australia. Government selling off public assets, including electricity generators, Sydney Ferries, the Sydney Desalination Plant and Port Botany.

THINGS ARE GETTING WORSE

JOB LOSSES
Under Barry OFarrell nder Barry OFarrell
20,700 jobs lost on Barry OFarrells watch and counting. NSW unemployment rate consistently above national average, and unemployment rate has risen to 5.2 per cent. Jobs that Barry OFarrell failed to keep in NSW: 500 at Kell & Rigby construction in Strathfield; 500 at Westpac in Sydney and hundreds more at the Commonwealth Bank, ANZ, NAB, Suncorp and Macquarie; 250 Kurri Kurri aluminium smelter jobs; 190 at Reckitt Benckiser manufacturing in West Ryde; 106 at Pacific Brands in Minto and Wentworthville; and Thousands more at risk at Reed Construction and subcontractors working with the company. 5,000 public sector workers sacked with more to come. Closed workplaces include the Cronulla Fisheries Research Centre, Industrial Relations offices in Gosford, Penrith, Wagga Wagga, Coffs Harbour and Orange, Trade and Investment small business offices in Tweed Heads, Broken Hill, Coffs Harbour and Goulburn, Parramatta Gaol, Kirkconnell Gaol, Berrima Gaol, the Parramatta Business Centre and the Parramatta Consumer, Trade and Tenancy Tribunal.

ACCOUNTABILITY TRASHED
Under Barry OFarrell n
Gaming Minister George Souris embroiled in sordid Star casino affair and admits he knew of sexual harassment allegations in January but failed to inform the Independent Liquor and Gaming Authority, in line with his ministerial responsibilities. Premiers Communications Director abuses position to pursue vendetta against The Star casino, while drawing a taxpayer salary. Independent Parliamentary Budget Office killed off after report debunking government claims of a budget black hole. Deputy Premier Stoner referred to ICAC for personally rorting Solar Bonus Scheme. Parliamentary Secretary for Police, Steve Cansdell forced to resign in disgrace after admitting to signing a false statutory declaration. New Parliamentary Secretary for Police, Geoff Provest caught accepting a banned political donation.

THINGS ARE GETTING WORSE

GUN CRIME OUT OF CONTROL

Under Barry OFarrell nd
Worst spate of drive by shootings in a decade 69 shootings on Barry OFarrells watch and counting. 35.8 per cent increase in amphetamine offences in the last 12 months. Police stations critically understaffed across Sydney. 242 police officers cut from the greater Sydney metropolitan area. Benefits slashed for police injured in the line of duty. Major crime families exempt from anti gang laws introduced by OFarrell Government. Gaols closed at Parramatta, Berrima and Kirkconnell and hundreds of prison workers sacked.

PATIENTS WAITING LONGER

Under Barry OFarrell n
Emergency Department waiting times increasing, reaching levels not seen since the swine flu crisis. Median waiting time for non-urgent surgery has increased to 212 days. Government document reveals 405 beds up and running prior to the 2011 election will be counted in the 1,390 new beds promise which will mean NSW hospitals miss out on one third of the new beds committed to by Barry OFarrell. Nurses forced to work on understaffed wards after a new directive orders that the first member of nursing staff to call in sick to a shift will not be replaced. Government emergency wait time website regularly inaccurate or not operational.

HURTING OUR MOST VULNERABLE

Under Barry OFarrell n
750 children with disabilities stranded when the Education Minister failed to organise school transport. 26,000 pensioners left without glasses due to brutal cut to VisionCare program funding. Families of asbestos victims denied compensation if their loved one dies before their case is finalised. Foster carer allowance slashed for parents who adopt a child. Caseworkers sacked and a staffing freeze implemented across the Department of Community Services, despite increasing demand for services for vulnerable children at risk.

THINGS ARE GETTING WORSE

EDUCATION CUTS
Under Barry OFarrell n
Unflued gas heaters wont be replaced despite a pre election promise by the Premier to replace them for students. Funding scrapped to replace more than 5,000 school demountable buildings. No funding to air condition school classrooms, despite the Education Department headquarters receiving an air conditioning upgrade. Government threatening to raid school bank accounts for interest payments, despite the fact this interest pays for textbooks, equipment and extracurricular activities. TAFE fees increasing, making it harder to learn a skill or trade. Minister refuses to guarantee that no school will be worse off under the proposed Local Schools, Local Decisions funding model.

UNDERMINING THE STATUS OF WOMEN

Under Barry OFarrell n
Premiers Expert Advisory Council for Women axed. 50 per cent female quota removed for new appointees to government boards and committees. Funding cut for International Womens Day events. NSW Woman of the Year Awards cancelled. No commitment to equal pay for low-wage social and community services workers. Female public sector workers forced to trade off breastfeeding breaks for pay rises above the rate of inflation under OFarrell Government policy. Women in Business mentoring program scrapped. Seven senior female public servants forced out of their jobs.

THINGS ARE GETTING WORSE

WORSENING CONGESTION
Under Barry OFarrell n
Premier breaks key election promise to duplicate the Pacific Highway by 2016. M4 extension from Strathfield to the city abandoned. M5 East tunnel wont be widened. Three of four promised new Sydney Ferries routes wont be delivered. Promised express services from Campbelltown, Blue Mountains, Penrith and the Central Coast not delivered. Parramatta to Epping Rail Link scrapped. Western Express and City Relief Line scrapped. Signalling failures have increased on the CityRail network and now top 250 incidents per month, causing longer delays. CityRail on time running trending downwards. State Transport Master Plan delayed until end of 2012. No funding set aside for the North West Rail Link and no plan to get more than two trains an hour across into the CBD from the north west.

WAR ON THE ENVIRONMENT

Under Barry OFarrell n
Abolished the Department of Environment, Climate Change and Water. Environment Minister Robyn Parker took 54 hours to inform Stockton residents of a toxic chemical leak into the community. Radioactive waste from the North Shore to be dumped in Lidcombe and Kemps Creek, in breach of a key election promise from the Premier. Strategic land use plan fails to keep election promise to establish no go areas for Coal Seam Gas and protect high conservation and prime agricultural land. Overturned 26 year ban on uranium exploration in NSW. Government has shown a relentless hostility to wind energy, denying NSW a $3 billion investment opportunity. Environment Minister Robyn Parker claims logging protects koalas. Dirty energy prioritised over renewable energy. Moratorium imposed on the declaration of new marine parks.

THINGS ARE GETTING WORSE