NSW Treasury

In the years after Federation, NSW Treasury was involved in key policies that expanded the 'social contract'. Watch Dr Peter Hobbins explain this evolution. NSW Treasury is recognising its bicentenary this year. Discover more about 200 years of NSW Treasury: https://lnkd.in/gve9hw8r

Global ratings agency Fitch has affirmed NSW’s Triple-A credit rating with a stable outlook. For more on Fitch’s credit opinion click here: https://lnkd.in/gbtCTSR7

The Depression and Jack Lang        The 85 staff of NSW Treasury faced turbulent times in the early 1930s Depression when Premier Jack Lang sought to implement his ‘Lang Plan’. The Plan included stopping interest payments on debts to Britain, reducing interest on government borrowings to three per cent and abolish the Gold Standard. This brought the Lang Government into conflict with the Commonwealth Government who felt it had to stump up to cover NSW’s interest payments. To stop the Commonwealth recovering the money it spent paying the British banks, Lang and Treasury officers, accompanied by police, secretly visited the Bank of New South Wales and the Commercial Bank of Sydney. They presented cheques to each bank and took away well over a million pounds in state government deposits, mostly in small denominations, in suitcases that could then be used to pay wages and salaries. The cash was stored in the vaults of Treasury’s Bridge Street building and kept out of the hands of Commonwealth officials. Uniformed and armed police patrolled the vicinity and the corridors, giving the Treasury building the appearance of a barracks. The crisis meant that Treasury now operated as a bank, with special cheques able to be exchanged for cash over the heavily guarded counter. This situation was frightening for some, infuriating for others, but for the Treasury officers, it was a massive and unprecedented professional challenge. Eventually NSW Governor, Sir Philip Game sacked the Lang Government, citing breaches of the Audit Act and circulars instructing State public servants to break federal law concerning the recovery of funds owing to the Commonwealth. The Governor appointed a caretaker Premier and Treasury officials found themselves with a new master and a new challenge – to repair the State’s finances and restore confidence in its governmental processes. One of the first actions was to move £4,769,502 from the Treasury vaults back to the private banks. For NSW Treasury, the ordeal was over, but it had arguably revealed itself as adaptable and capable under the most trying of circumstances. NSW Treasury is recognising its bicentenary this year. Discover more about 200 years of NSW Treasury: https://lnkd.in/gve9hw8r Image: Jack Lang speaks to a crowd in Moore Park

Minister for Finance, Domestic Manufacturing and Government Procurement, and Natural Resources, Courtney Houssos addressed the Local and Sustainable Uniform and Textiles Procurement Symposium which was convened by Dr Sarah Kaine. The event at NSW Parliament House connected sustainable uniform and textiles experts, businesses, and government procurement specialists. A panel including NSW Treasury Deputy Secretary Procurement & Banking, Andrea Forbes discussed sustainable sourcing, with a focus on uniforms and other government-purchased textiles. The event showcased sustainable procurement practices, a whole-of-lifecycle approach to fashion and textiles and local manufacturing options. 

The 1890s – Drought, depression & bank failures      Before the 1890s, the New South Wales economy had enjoyed growth and development from the gold rush, the export of wool to Europe and the construction of railways. Much had been financed with loans from Britain, but the collapse of Baring Bros Bank of London in 1890 led to chaos in world capital markets and easy finance quickly dried up. Heavily geared with debt, by late 1891, two Sydney banks had failed and in 1892 there was a run on the Savings Bank of NSW. In May 1893 the crisis increased when the city’s largest bank, the Commercial Banking Company of Sydney, suspend payments and other banks had their deposits frozen. The Government sought to stabilise the banking sector through the Current Account Depositors' Act that gave the Treasury power to pay depositors in Treasury notes redeemable in gold within five years against certificates stating the amount of their credit balances in the suspended banks. The banking crisis was exacerbated by a long drought from the mid-1880s into the 1890s which saw many rural workers move to Sydney looking for jobs. This, increased unemployment in a city already suffering from a downturn in manufacturing and construction industry by the late 1880s. Adding to the economic turmoil were strikes by shearers and maritime workers. This depression was the most severe in Australia’s history with real GDP falling 17 per cent over 1892 and 1893. It was a difficult time for NSW Treasury as it ventured into a new century, dealing not only with the immediate consequences of the depression, but also facing the challenges of impending Federation and the battle between free trade and protection. NSW Treasury is recognising its bicentenary this year. Discover more about 200 years of NSW Treasury: https://lnkd.in/gve9hw8r Image: Treasury staff photo at Chowder Bay, 1894.

🔊 We want to hear from you! 💬   In preparation for the 2025-26 NSW Budget, we recognise that the best way to shape our future is by listening to those who matter most – YOU, our community!   📢 Your voice, your priorities Individuals, businesses & community groups are invited to share your views on budget priorities that will have the greatest impact. Whether it’s about infrastructure, healthcare, education, or community programs, your feedback will help guide the decision-making process.   🚀 How to participate Submit your views and ideas through the online portal https://lnkd.in/gndyx9jj   📅 Submission deadline: 5pm Tuesday 17 December 2024 to allow time for the Government to consider your views.   Let’s create a budget that reflects the needs and aspirations of everyone! 🌟

🚀 Last week NSW Treasury and Finance Minister the Hon. Courtney Houssos MLC joined stakeholders from across the community including business, unions, non-profits, advocacy groups, First Nations, and the public sector 🎉 We discussed building a comprehensive Performance and Wellbeing Framework that will bring together the measurement and reporting of the performance of NSW Government services and quality of life for the people of NSW. Stakeholder contributions will help to refine and improve the Framework, ensuring that it is relevant, robust, and responsive to the changing needs and expectations of the NSW community. A huge thank you to the more than 30 organisations who participated and shared their insights! We are excited to continue working with you to turn these ideas into impactful, lasting changes. You can read our full consultation paper that was published as part of the 2024-25 NSW Budget https://lnkd.in/g9VZv2dp And if you would like to provide feedback you can do so via the Have Your Say website https://lnkd.in/gH2m7wUg

Building the railways In 1857, transporting a ton of goods from Sydney to Bathurst required a bullock cart, took 23 days, and cost 15 pounds 10 shillings (approximately $3,000 in today’s money). Once a rail connection was established in 1871, travel time shrank to just 16 hours and price reduced to 2 pounds 12 shillings per ton. Building railways revolutionised transport across NSW, overcoming the tyranny of distance, expanding economic development and linking the far regions with Sydney’s ports. Between 1870 and 1880 the number of passengers travelling had risen from 776,707 to 5,440,138 in a decade, and the distance of railway line in the state had increased from 339 to 849 miles. NSW Treasury was aware that in the short-run some rail lines would operate at a loss. According to Railway Commissioner John Rae, ‘it was expected that, with the growth in the volume of traffic…. earnings would not only cover working expenses, but also service the debt by which such railway construction was financed’. Cheap capital was available from London, and in the period from 1879 to 1886, New South Wales raised some £27 million in overseas loans and became recognised as one of the largest borrowers to appear regularly on the London capital market. Rail lines were strategically built to ensure Sydney rather than Melbourne, Brisbane or Adelaide was the destination for goods being produced around the NSW. The fact that all rail lines were tied back to Sydney ensured that the financial benefits of the interior’s lucrative commerce were a net gain for the NSW budget, especially since much of this transhipped produce was for export. When ‘the Rail’ arrived at a rural town, new small-scale industries developed, partly to serve the railways, partly to serve the increased population, but also to take advantage of access to local products. NSW Treasury is recognising its bicentenary this year. Discover more about 200 years of NSW Treasury: https://lnkd.in/gve9hw8r Image: Wool arrives by train at Darling Harbour

A firm hand on Treasury’s tiller – Geoffrey Eagar NSW had eight different Treasurers in the first eight years of self-government after 1856. It was Geoffrey Eagar who finally provided direction and stability to NSW Treasury, first as an elected Treasurer, then as Under Secretary of the Treasury – this position was in effect the senior public servant employed to lead the department. Born in Sydney, Eagar worked as a bookkeeper and then as chief accountant at the Bank of New South Wales before being appointed to the NSW Legislative Council and later elected to the Legislative Assembly as the member for West Sydney. After a couple of periods as elected Treasurer between 1863 and 1868, Eagar fell into personal financial difficulty until in 1871 the Premier appointed him to a position at Treasury, where he became permanent head from 1872 to 1891. His background in accounting and as Treasurer meant he possessed skills which few if any of the sixteen Treasurers he served over the next twenty years possessed. Eagar created a powerful Treasury organisation and introduced new accounting to effectively gain control of expenditure. He implemented sweeping financial and administrative reforms, dumped the controversial free-trade tariff and imposed stamp duty taxation. Eagar believed that government should play a major role in promoting economic growth, mainly by the judicious construction of public works and carefully devised fiscal policy. He orchestrated the floating of loans and the repayments, convincing various British financiers of the colony's capacity to repay. Although a determined reformer and forceful administrator, he was impatient of criticism, almost tyrannical in his treatment of subordinates, clashed with other politicians and bureaucrats, and sometimes moved too swiftly in advance of public opinion. NSW Treasury is recognising its bicentenary this year. Discover more about 200 years of NSW Treasury: https://lnkd.in/gve9hw8r Image: Portrait of Colonial Treasurer Geoffrey Eagar, circa 1865–1890.

A Golden Transformation News spread fast that a goldfield had been discovered in 1851 at Ophir, north of Bathurst. Prospectors soon arrived from around the world seeking to strike it lucky. NSW Treasury was central to flow of gold being dug and panned out of the goldfields. Some gold was traded locally to buy equipment, food and drink, but most was exchanged with the NSW Gold Commissioner for a fixed price – then it was transported under guard to the new Treasury building on Macquarie Street, Sydney, before being dispatched to London. The gold rush produced so much precious metal that Treasury soon decided it could not receive and store all the gold arriving at its premises and made arrangements with the commercial banks around Sydney to help store the gold. The discovery of gold led to the demographic, economic, social and political transformation of New South Wales into an urban-industrial society. NSW Treasury is recognising its bicentenary this year. Discover more about 200 years of NSW Treasury: https://lnkd.in/gve9hw8r Image: Bathurst and Sydney gold escort, scene, Blue Mountain Road, Lacy, George National Library of Australia