Public transport fee relief and car rego cut by $100 in NSW budget targeting cost-of-living pressures

Public transport fares will be frozen for one year and vehicle registration cut by $100 under New South Wales budget measures designed to provide cost-of-living relief ahead of the upcoming election. In Tuesday’s budget, the last before the March 2027 state poll, the Minns government has made a direct appeal to working families in seats threatened by One Nation and the Coalition, especially in Sydney’s west. Public transport fares in the Opal system, capped at $50 a week, will be cheaper than expected , with prices to remain unchanged. They typically go up in July. The government will lower the threshold of its weekly road toll cap, beyond which drivers can claim back any additional tolls they incur, from $60 to $50 for 12 months. Drivers will be able to claim back up to $350 a week after paying $50. Australia’s most populous state is forecast to plunge into a worse-than-expected $2.3bn deficit in 2026-27, before rebounding to a $1.1bn surplus the following year, which would be the state’s first surplus since the pandemic sank state finances. NSW Labor expects the surplus to grow to $1.9bn by 2029-30. The state’s gross debt levels are forecast to breach the $200bn level by 2027-28, higher than previously expected. Sign up for the Breaking News Australia email The NSW treasurer, Daniel Mookhey, framed the budget on Tuesday as a means to provide cost-of-living relief and create a “state working families can afford” to live in. …