Reactions to the NSW big-spending budget

REACTIONS TO THE NSW BUDGET:

* "My real fear is if they get re-elected, we'll have an austerity budget straight after." - Opposition Leader Chris Minns

* "We welcome action to boost women's workforce participation, which is good for families, good for businesses and will help manage chronic labour shortages across the economy." - Business Council CEO Jennifer Westacott

* "The government has failed students, and continues to fail students and the teaching profession." - NSW Teachers Federation president Angelo Gavrielatos

* "That will take solid financial management considering the debt levels and the vast spending measures detailed in this budget." - Business NSW chief executive Daniel Hunter who says getting to the projected surplus won't be easy

* "The measures announced in today's budget will not halt habitat destruction happening because the environmental protections in the government's land clearing laws are very weak." - Nature Conservation Council Chief Executive Chris Gambian

* "This budget does little to support our most vulnerable communities, including people experiencing homelessness, those on the social housing waiting list and those who need a strong social service sector to lift them up." - NSW Council of Social Service CEO Joanna Quilty

* "The NRMA has been at the forefront in rolling out EV infrastructure in NSW and we're pleased to see the NSW government continuing to support this important technology." - NRMA CEO Rohan Lund

* "This budget is a big reminder of the economic headwinds our state faces." - Deputy CEO of the Committee for Sydney Ehssan Veiszadeh

* "Prison officers, child protection workers, school support staff, RFS and SES officers - all were out there on the pandemic frontline and now they've been rewarded with a pay cut. 430,000 public service providers will now have less to spend on groceries than they did last year." - General Secretary Public Service Association of NSW, Stewart Little

* "It's a great investment in NSW women and also for the state's future economic prosperity." - CWA of NSW State President Joy Beames

* "In a state that is recovering from the worst flood and bushfire events in modern history, and with extreme weather events only getting worse not better, we can't afford not to include insurance levies and taxes in the government's reform agenda." - Insurance Council of Austalia CEO Andrew Hall

* "This winter will be colder than ever for the more than 50,000 families on the state's social housing waitlist, knowing there is little help coming their way in the state budget." - Caitlin McDowell from Community Housing Industry Association NSW

* "This is a budget with generous and targeted spending on women, childcare and schooling reforms, skills and training, along with a bulging infrastructure pipeline that will all help grow Sydney's economy as small, medium and large businesses continue to navigate uncertain worldwide economic challenges." - Executive Director of Business Sydney, Paul Nicolaou.

* "This funding will allow services to provide more than an initial crisis call, but thorough and ongoing supports as women navigate the complex justice and social support system." - Women's Domestic Violence Court Advocacy Service Interim CEO Elise Phillips

* "The $1.9 billion to roll out transmission infrastructure for Renewable Energy Zones in NSW and $50.4 million to accelerate the Renewable Energy Zone development in light of earlier-than-expected thermal power plant closures will set a solid base to work from." - Bob Hawes, CEO of Business Hunter

* "The introduction of new recurrent expenditure heightens the state's vulnerability to an unexpected revenue decline, ahead of the March 2023 state election, and will ultimately determine the ability of the state to achieve operating balance in fiscal 2025." - Moody's Investor Service