Tuesday, 11 May 2021 Legislative Assembly- PROOF Page 1 LEGISLATIVE ASSEMBLY Tuesday, 11 May 2021 The Speaker (The Hon. Jonathan Richard O'Dea) took the chair at 12:00. The Speaker read the prayer and acknowledgement of country. [Notices of motions given] Bills HEAVY VEHICLE LEGISLATION AMENDMENT (NATIONAL REGULATOR) BILL 2021 Returned The SPEAKER: I report receipt of a message from the Legislative Council returning the bill without amendment. Announcements CHAMBER SEATING ARRANGEMENTS The SPEAKER: As members are probably aware, Chamber seating arrangements during question time today will be the same as they were last Thursday, is pursuant to advice from NSW Health experts. Members may notice there is only one lectern on each side of the table, with the exception of the special lectern for the member for Gosford. That prudent health measure has been put in place in accordance with health advice in the current coronavirus circumstances. Bills PAYROLL TAX AMENDMENT (JOBS PLUS) BILL 2021 Second Reading Debate Debate resumed from 5 May 2021. Mr RYAN PARK (Keira) (12:17): I lead for the Opposition in this Chamber on the Payroll Tax Amendment (Jobs Plus) Bill 2021, which has been examined by my colleague the Hon. Walt Secord in the other place. The Opposition will support the bill, which will exempt businesses creating 30 new jobs, but I foreshadow that the Opposition will move some amendments. Our amendments to the bill will support rural and regional areas by reducing the threshold from 30 to 20 jobs for areas outside the major centres of Sydney, Wollongong and Newcastle. The shadow Treasurer and the shadow Cabinet believe that this is an opportunity to give towns and major centres in struggling regional and rural New South Wales a real shot in the arm by reducing those 30 jobs, which is currently in the bill, down to 20 jobs. Regional and rural New South Wales have done it very tough, not just during COVID. Prior to that they have experienced fire and drought, and some have also experienced flood. Essentially over the last two years some of those areas have been hit four times by disasters, any one of which would knock over many communities. We believe this Parliament has an opportunity to amend a bill we support to enhance the assistance available for those businesses looking to set up in rural and regional New South Wales. I would like to think that every member in this place would agree that rural and regional New South Wales has probably had it tougher than most: floods, devastating fires, a pandemic and, of course, a devastating drought that seems like it was a long time ago but was, in fact, only a couple of years back. It has only been in the last 12 months that those areas have really come out of that. Whilst our proposed amendments will reduce the threshold, we will also have an annual reporting and oversight requirement where the Government has to state the name of each employer that entered into a Jobs Plus agreement, the number of jobs the employer created and the amount of payroll tax from which the employer was exempt. That will provide some transparency around the benefit of this program so that the community can understand its importance. We support the bill's provision for payroll tax exemptions for certain positions under the Jobs Plus Program. The bill currently states that businesses can receive payroll tax relief, for up to a four-year period, for Tuesday, 11 May 2021 Legislative Assembly- PROOF Page 2 every new job created where a business has created at least 30 new FTE jobs by June 2024. The Government said it selected the figure of 30 jobs because that it is about where payroll tax kicks in. However, following the engagement by the Opposition and shadow Treasurer with business—and regional business in particular—we understand that those businesses can benefit from this at a lower number. All new workers must live in and be paid in New South Wales. Payroll tax exemptions would apply for the period agreed in the Jobs Plus agreement, up to a maximum of four years. Obviously the bill is designed to assist with the recovery, which is something we have worked on in a cooperative way with the Government—and we will continue to do so. We think this amendment enhances the existing bill. The exemption may be revoked by the Minister for Jobs, Investment, Tourism and Western Sydney in circumstances that will be identified in the agreement, including if the business is not meeting its agreement with the Government. That is an important accountability component that I think all members would agree with. I turn to the payroll tax exemption for the third and any further retention bonus payments for eligible aged care workers, funded from a Commonwealth grant program. In late August 2020 the Commonwealth Government announced a third tranche of the Aged Care Workforce Retention Grant Opportunity program, which was paid in January 2021. The program provides funding for aged care retention bonus payments for eligible workers providing services in residential and home care settings to incentivise the continuity of this workforce during the pandemic. In August 2020 the New South Wales Parliament approved an exemption from payroll tax for wages paid to aged care workers from bonus payments received by employers under the grant program before 1 January 2021. This has the effect of only exempting wages paid under the first two tranches. This bill provides an exemption from payroll tax for wages paid or payable under the third tranche and any future announced tranche of the program, and ensures that eligible employers will not be liable for payroll tax on wages paid under the third tranche and any future tranche. The payment is $600 to $800, depending on the number of hours worked and whether they are working in home care or residential aged care. The financial impact of Jobs Plus is that it is a $250 million program. At this stage the Government is looking to create or support up to 25,000 jobs until 30 June 2024. The funding will cease on that date. What we know is that we are a long way from being out of the economic crisis. We are doing well in terms of community transmission—we have had a little bump in the last week or so, but we are still doing well there. However, the economic impacts of COVID-19 are still being felt and they will continue to be felt for many months and years. The Parliament has an opportunity to address those impacts through the bill. As such, Labor will engage in a spirit of bipartisanship with the Government. We certainly hope that the Government uses that spirit of bipartisanship to enhance the bill. Labor supports the bill in general but believes that it could be improved, particularly for the regional and rural businesses that have done it tough through the drought, the bushfires, the floods and the pandemic. Labor believes the bill could be improved with some small amendments, which will be moved during this debate. Ms MELANIE GIBBONS (Holsworthy) (12:25): I support the Payroll Tax Amendment (Jobs Plus) Bill 2021, which I thank New South Wales Treasurer Dominic Perrottet for introducing to the House. The bill will remove barriers to job creation for the people of New South Wales. One of those major barriers is tax. It is essential that employers and employees get back on their feet in the aftermath of the pandemic. The proposals in the bill aim to achieve that. The impact of the COVID-19 pandemic has taken its toll on the New South Wales economy. Just over a year ago 270,000 people in New South Wales had lost their jobs. We have not seen a crisis like that since the Great Depression. The New South Wales Government is committed to ensuring that the economic recovery is on track and that people get back to work. It is important to note that in a year the unemployment rate in New South Wales has already fallen. During the height of the pandemic it was at 7.2 per cent; it is now down to 5.4 per cent. Further, economic growth is predicted to improve by 2¾ per cent by 2023-24. That gradual economic recovery was made possible by the Government's emphasis on jobs recovery and by the resilience of the State's health system during the pandemic. We must commit to continue that recovery to a pre-COVID state. The economic recovery and the boost in jobs are two of the New South Wales Government's top priorities. This bill is testament to that. The Government has already taken steps to ensure that jobs are re-established by committing to short-term stimulus and by removing barriers to job creation. The New South Wales Government's budget introduced a payroll tax regime that lifted the tax-free threshold to $1.2 million and administered the lowest headline metropolitan payroll tax rate across the country. The Government also aims to create new and better opportunities for businesses, as showcased by the Jobs Plus Program, which was introduced last year. The Jobs Plus Program incentivises and encourages more people to establish businesses in New South Wales. Businesses must meet certain eligibility criteria to qualify for the program and receive support. Eligible businesses must create 30 new full-time jobs in New South Wales. That employment activity must be initiated Tuesday, 11 May 2021 Legislative Assembly- PROOF Page 3 before 30 June 2022 and completed by 30 June 2024.