By NSW Premier Mike Baird @MikeBairdMP
New South Wales Premier Mike Baird recently contacted The Indian Telegraph to reach out to the Indian and subcontinent community with special messages on development, progress and initiatives within the State, in a column exclusive to our publication. While we have been carrying a fortnightly message on our website, here is a brief synopsis of the Premier’s messages, to appraise our readers on what could impact them and to create a dialogue of open and candid communication.
Free TAFE for students in need
I begin my first column of 2015 as more than one million students across NSW return to school. I paid a visit
on the first day of term to one of the newest public schools in NSW at The Ponds in Sydney’s North West, where
students were settling into their brand new classrooms.
Three new schools have opened at The Ponds this year: Riverbank Public School, The Ponds High School and The Ponds School, a school for specific purposes. We want our children to be educated in fresh and encouraging learning environments and, since 2011, the NSW Liberals & Nationals Government has committed almost $3.2 million to school buildings, infrastructure and maintenance, and we have no intention of slowing down if reelected in March.
The centrepiece of our plan is to make it free for 200,000 disadvantaged young people to go to TAFE and other
vocational education and training providers – with priority for residents in social housing.
In more good news, we have also signed an agreement with the state’s peak employer and industry groups to work together so that more apprentices can be trained and employed.
Getting Sydney moving: The city’s newest train line opens
In the past week I visited St George Hospital at Kogarah to announce ou plans to redevelop the hospital, as we
take another step toward delivering another world-class hospital for Sydney. Our $307 million investment will go towards constructing a new Acute Services Building that will be built on top of the new emergency department and will stand seven storeys high, housing an intensive care ward, high dependency and cardiac intensive care wards, as well as extra operating theatres and acute inpatient beds, and a sterilising services department..
Sydney’s public transport network was also expanded with the opening of the city’s newest rail lin,e the South
West Rail Link. This is a major project that I’m proud to announce has been delivered more than one year early,
and $300 million under budget.
Two new schools for Sydney: building the classrooms of the future
I begin this week’s column by wishing everyone a Happy Lunar New Year. This week I was also in Homebush to announce that a re-elected Baird Government will commit $300 million to ease congestion on Sydney’s busiest road corridors. We’ll target 32 key roads including the Cumberland Highway, Parramatta Road, Old Windsor Road, The Kingsway, Campbelltown Road and Hoxton Park Road.
Our plan to fix Sydney’s worst roads will ease traffic congestion and cut travel times for motorists by funding
hundreds of pinch point projects, which will mean people spend less time stuck in traffic and more time with family and friends.
We have an opportunity to get Sydney moving again and importantly, we have the plan to fund it. If re-elected,
we will allocate this $300 million from Rebuilding NSW, the $20 billion fund that will result from the long-term
lease of the State’s electricity assets. I visited Strathfield South Public School to announce our $5 million
commitment to install another set of flashing lights outside at least 400 schools across NSW. This initiative
will target schools with multiple entrances to remind drivers to slow down in school zones and keep our kids safe.
We have been working with worldleading educators, designers and architects to create the classrooms of
the future, which we will build across.NSW, if re-elected .